


hello, tell me you know (if it kills me)

by scootiepuffjr



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: (kinda), Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Alternate Universe - Romantic Comedy, Angst, Blowjobs, Declarations Of Love, Derek's a romantic at heart, Everyone's a honorary Hale!, F/M, Frotting, M/M, Marriage Madness, Past Drug Use, Past Rape/Non-con, Pining, Stiles is an idiot, Underage Drug Use, You choose your own family, eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-24
Updated: 2013-10-24
Packaged: 2017-12-30 09:15:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1016833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scootiepuffjr/pseuds/scootiepuffjr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Dude, no worries. Like, at all. You could have waited until your bachelor party to ask me and I would have said yes. Which, when do you want that to be, be tee dubs? Since, now it's my responsibility to set it up. Strippers or no strippers?" Stiles whisks frantically, trying to break up all the chunks while grinning at Derek, who's rubbing his forehead like he doesn't understand where the spontaneous headache comes from. Spoiler: It's from Stiles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	hello, tell me you know (if it kills me)

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS AT THE END THAT CONTAIN SPOILERS
> 
> This is for Thanh, who somehow got this thought in my head, and for Terrah, who coaxed me across the finish line with burritos and baby animals, neither of which are even in the fandom really but still read this thing tons of times.
> 
> EDIT  
> Apparently my daughter added a few random numbers throughout. I fixed them.

 

     When Stiles gets The Call-let's be real here, it needs to be capitalized-, he's standing in his apartment, half-nude with cold pizza hanging from his mouth. He'd been working on his thesis when he'd wondered into the kitchen, grabbing for last night's left overs on the counter and getting distracted by an episode of Kitchen Nightmares. Ramsay is screaming at some poor Mexican dude who owned an Italian restaurant and Stiles is laughing because the man has a serious accent that creates an amazing language gap. Gordon's head is about to implode and take the restaurant with it.

     Stiles answers the phone and immediately goes into a recount of the episode because Stiles knows his friend, and his friend loves Gordon Ramsay. What he doesn't expect is the words, "I'm going to ask Daisy to marry me," to come from Derek's end of the line.

    The pizza falls out of his hand from where he'd been lifting it to his mouth and lands on his bare foot right as Gordon calls the Mexican dude a stupid fuck. It should have been taken as a sign.

    "Huhwhat?"

    Derek sighs, sounding like having to repeat himself is arduous and maybe even slightly nauseating, "I have to ask Daisy to marry me." 

     Marry? Daisy and Derek? _Marry?!_ No, Derek's never even mentioned wanting to get married, _ever_. He'd mentioned children once, but only in passing at Laura's wedding. It had actually shocked Stiles to the point where all he could do was stared open-mouth at the side of Derek's face as the man shrugged, then walked away like it was completely normal to drop that tidbit of information into Stiles' lap and then leave. But marriage? Also-

     "Have to? What do you mean have to? You didn't knock her up, did you? 'Cause dude, I haven't even heard you talk about kids to any real extent and there was that one incident with the small child in the grocery store-"

    "He was being obnoxious."

    "He was four! And just wanted a Snickers. You were the one standing in front of the display!" 

    "I was waiting in line!"

    "You yelled."

     "I didn't knock Daisy up, okay!"

    Stiles swallows and nods to no one, bending to pick up the food off his foot. The words _Derek_ and _Daisy_ and _marriage_ flying around his brain at top speeds. It wasn't that Stiles didn't like Daisy, quite the opposite actually, it was just _Derek getting married_. Derek getting married and buying a house. Derek getting married and coming home every day to a wife and maybe a dog later and/or children. Images of Derek grilling while Daisy made lemonade bombarded his mind. Images of Christmases in front of a fireplace and Halloweens with matching couples costumes and Valentine's Days with stupid cheesy rose petals everywhere. His entire body hurts, "Okay, so you and Daisy. Getting married. That's- that is awesome, dude."

    "Yes, it is."

     Stiles stares as Gordon takes an entire tub of spaghetti and dumps it onto the floor. He should be happy for his friend. This is huge, a giant leap for Hale-kind since none of the Hale children have the ability to hold down relationships, with the exception of Laura that one time which ended in divorce and one hell of a lawsuit. Stiles doesn't understand it; Talia and Edward have been together for nearly thirty years. They have weathered three children, countless adopted nutcases they like to refer to as children, and the building of a multi-million dollar empire from the ground up, not to mention the shitshow called the American media. You'd think with the perfect example of how to make it through a long term relationship alive, the Hale kids would know what the hell they were doing. Nope. All of them failed. Except that Derek hadn't, apparently.

    That was the single most confusing part, Derek had found someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. After everything, it was Derek, and that seemed strange, unnatural. It made Stiles suspicious, but contrary to popular belief, he did have some tact, so instead of voicing those concerns, he says, "Daisy's great man. She's-you're both gonna be awesome. You haven't asked her yet, have you?"

     "No, I'm going to this weekend. I was going to ask if you would go look at rings with me."

     It is the work of God that the sound rising up Stiles' throat doesn't make it out for Derek to hear. 

     Look at rings? Look at rings with Derek? Look at rings meant for  _someone else's finger_ with Derek? How is he supposed to manage that? How is he supposed to stand next to Derek in jewelry store and help him pick out an engagement ring for Daisy? It would have to be something simple, white gold with a small, delicate setting. Beautiful and understated, but with a small twist-a light blue or light yellow stone, some thin engraving. Daisy doesn't do flashy, the ring is for Daisy.

     Okay, Stiles can do this. He can do it. He will do it, for his friend. For Derek.

     "Sure, yeah. When?"

    "Tomorrow?"

     Stiles nods again, glancing down at where he had begun to squeeze the pizza in his hands; sauce and cheese was starting to ooze between his fingers. He forces his hand to relax and makes his way to the trash. "Have you told anyone else yet, or do I have the honor of being the first to know?"

     Derek hesitates for a second; Stiles can hear rustling in the background. "I was about to call Laura. Mom and Dad already know."

     "Isaac?"

     "No," Stiles hears more movement along with a door opening and some muffled speech. He flips on the tap to rid his hand of the mess he made and catches himself staring into the running water when Derek speaks again, "I wanted to tell you first. Mom and Dad only know because Mom caught me looking up jewelers today, and we all know how good she is at keeping secrets."

    A small laugh climbs through Stiles' mouth as he flips the water off and snatches a paper towel, "Yeah, The Great Brownie Fiasco."

    "Exactly. Shit, I gotta go. Meeting. Lunch tomorrow? You're off right?"

     "Yeah, see yah," Stiles doesn't get a goodbye in return; typical Hale behavior. When he pulls the phone from his ear, he stares at it for a moment before turning to tap off and calling Oliver to ask if he's home. 

     On the way over, he realizes that in a normal relationship, people know their significant other's work schedule, but after some heavy petting, he can't find it in himself to give a shit. 

  
+

      
     Stiles has known the Hales since he was eight. Stiles' friendship with the Hale children was more of an agreement at first, since their parents were friends and dragged Stiles everywhere. 

    "They're new to the area, sweetie. Make them feel welcome," his mom had told him.

     Stiles was an indoor kid, he liked comics and books and Star Wars and astronomy while the Hales liked rolling around outside. Literally rolling. Stiles had gotten caught up in one of their "play" fights once and had to wear a brace on his wrist for a week. Stiles was annoying and whiny, and the only Hale who seemed to have to patience for him was Laura, but even she had her limits.

     Laura was almost six years older than Stiles, but she had a mothering instinct that made her insults slightly less mean than her siblings, and she didn't seem to care when Stiles followed her around. Cora was quiet and actually tended to scare Stiles with how intense her looks could be. She was his age and in his class, so she when she spoke it was to complained about having to put up with him at school _and_ at home. Derek always scoffed, making himself scarce whenever Stiles visited, stating that he was too old to play with babies. Although, he didn't care about Cora hanging around him.

    It wasn't until Stiles' mother became sick that Cora and Derek started changing their tune.

  
+

     Looking at rings with Derek turns out to be exactly the mental disaster Stiles had suspected it would be. 

     He almost wishes he was at work. Almost.

     Woodard's was located conveniently next to a bakery and a florist.  All three had large window clings letting you know to ask about the package deals and if you buy a certain amount you get a _free chocolate fountain_ for your reception. 

     Stiles had to pretend to be excited about it; he _should_ be excited about it.

     _Free chocolate fountain_.

     The sales lady, Melanie, greeted them with an overly cheery smile and stiff shoulders when they entered. She shot Stiles a confused look when Derek told her he was shopping for an engagement ring for his girlfriend. Stiles had shrugged back at her, _I'm not quite sure why I'm here either, actually I'm kind of freaking out internally and my stomach feels liked it's one Hale eyebrow quirk away from using it's acid to dissolve my entire body, but I'm nothing if not a good friend._

     Stiles' shrugs talk in run on sentences almost as good as the Hales' facial expressions. 

     When Melanie asked what Derek was looking for, he blinked and opened his mouth slightly like he hadn't even thought about it. Stiles rolled his eyes and said, "Sorry, we're working on thinking over things before we ask for them. It's a work in progress. Can you show us something simple and we'll work from there? No yellow gold and no rubies."

     That had received a few stares, from both Melanie and Derek; Stiles had simply smiled back. 

    So, now he and Derek were standing in front of a display looking at ring after ring as Derek vetoed every single one. Stiles throws his hands up, frustrated as Melanie moves to pull even more product from the back room, "Dude, you have got to pick one. We've been here for an hour!"

     Derek's eyebrows are pulled together so tight Stiles is sure they're going to just slam into one another and create one massive eyebrow of doom. He's hunched over the display with his hands gripping the gold trim lining the edge of the glass, shoulders tight and arms veining. He looks more like someone is forcing him to choose between death by drowning and death by incineration instead of picking out an engagement ring, "They're all either too much or not enough." 

     "This is Daisy you're marrying. She's going to love anything you give her. Ten bucks says she cries too hard to say yes and vaults into your arms instead," Derek turns his eyes up to meet Stiles'. Stiles notes the way his jaw moves as he grinds his teeth, lips thin and pulled tight, his stare bearing into Stiles' soul. It's making Stiles uncomfortable, so he sighs and gestures vaguely to the other side of the store, "I'll just be, yeah, okay."

    Stiles does not stalk across the floor to the watches.

     Stiles takes a few deep breathes and tries to convince himself that Derek's being difficult because he wants to give Daisy the perfect ring and not because Derek's probably freaking out a bit causing him to be unsure about the entire thing. Okay, Derek had been more snippy that usual when he picked Stiles up. And, he _had_ given Stiles a death glare when Stiles asked if they could pick up Sonic on the way. Also, there was the way Derek had kept his vision locked onto the road with his hands white-knuckling at ten and two, and his back perfectly straight which was not his usual laid back method at all- **STOP**. 

     Life is not a RomCom where the lead is trying to send telepathic messages to his friend that he didn't want to marry the pretty arm candy despite her being perfect, and wanted to marry the friend instead and live a life full of happiness and cheer and chocolate fountains. 

     It isn't. 

     Although, it would help if Derek told Stiles why exactly it was that Derek _had_ to marry Daisy. The one time Stile had brought it up on the way over, Derek had shrugged and said, "It's time," in a way that wasn't helpful in the least. A way that implied getting hitched wasn't a life changing event, but rather something you just up and decided to do when you reached a certain point in your life. Like buying your first reasonably priced car, or not smoking three to four bowls every day, or buying crockery; it just kind of came with age. 

     Nope. Stiles isn't buying that load of shit. 

     For Stiles to even consider marriage he'd have to feel totally, irrevocably, decisively connected to the person's mind, body, and soul. It means giving yourself over to another person and saying, "You're gonna be stuck with my terrible habits and bad jokes and shower etiquette for the rest of our lives and could totally screw my life up major, but I trust you not to." It seems like kind of a big deal. 

     He never thought of Derek as one to take that step lightly either, but here they are: Stiles making his way slowly across the displays as he hears Melanie come back with more rings for Derek to stare at.

     They're now working on hour two.

  
+

 

     Eventually, Stiles ends up in front of the wedding bands for men. They're all a variation of the same "manly" style, but one catches his eye: it's black, with a thin silver line running around it slightly off center - another line follows the same path on the inside, but where the one on the outside is positioned a little downward, this one is more upward. Next to it is a matching ring, exactly like the first but with inverted colors. 

    Stiles gets so caught up staring at the two rings that when Derek says, "I picked one," from beside him, Stiles flails. Hard.

    He ends up knocking the ring Derek was holding from Derek's hand, sending it flying behind Derek and hitting Melanie in the eye. She squeals, Derek glares at Stiles, Stiles starts babbling apologies and tries to help. Melanie waves him away frantically, and insists that she's alright, she just needs a minute. Stiles picks up the fallen ring as she rushes away, holding her eye. 

    The ring is beautiful, simple like he said. It has one single light purple diamond adorning the thin, white gold band. Stiles swallows back emotions and turns to grin at Derek, who is still glaring, "This is perfect, man."

     Derek rolls his eyes and turns back to the display Stiles had been in front of, "What were you looking at?"

    "Rings for you," Stiles laughs at Derek's raised eyebrow as he moves to Derek's side, ring held firmly in his palm. "You gotta have one, too. For the ceremony. I don't know if she picks it out or what, but I would think you'd get a say in it."

     "Hm,” Derek shrugs down at the glass. "Just a band is good for me."

     Stiles' mouth hangs open, "Just a-no. It's gotta be something cool and professional and not flashy, but also durable because it has to last from fishing to roller coaster riding to sexy times."

     This time Derek looks at Stiles like he shouldn't be so surprised at what happens in Stiles' head, but he kind of is. "So, which would you suggest, hotshot?"

     "Hotshot? Really?" Stiles questions. What year are they in, again? He points to the two he'd be so captivated by. "One of those. I'd pin you for the black one, specifically."

    Derek nods and looks impressed before Melanie comes back asking about ring sizes. Stiles zones back out when they start talking about the specifics; his body beginning to feel tired and strung out. Putting on a happy face wasn't something he was used to doing as much anymore. His life had been pretty great for a few years, and he hadn't had to pretend. He shouldn't be pretending now, he should be happy for his friend. He'd watched Derek go through a lot, and a happy marriage was something he deserved. Stiles can stand back and be the best friend-he will do it for Derek, just like he would for Scott or Isaac or Danny or even Jackson. Derek is just a friend, a best friend. 

    God, he needs to call Scott.

 

+

 

     Stiles likes Daisy. A little. Enough.

     He can see the physical appeal, at least. She's the perfect height: just tall enough to not make Derek bend strangely when he kisses her. Her hair is the shade of brown that glints in sunlight. Her eyes are just big enough to make her look innocent and enthrall you with their depths. At first glance, her features are proportional, her smile sparkling, her skin tanned and smooth. The first time Derek introduced them, all Stiles could think was, " _Woah_."

     He tried for weeks to find a flaw, any flaw. Every time she came with Derek to hang out, he would scrutinize everything she did and wore and said, trying to find something to hate about her. There had to be something; she didn't walk out of a romance novel. She wasn't a Sim made with the best attributes and characteristics.

     Along the way, he gives up. Daisy's nice. She asks Stiles about school and work. She asks him how they make cheesecake ice cream, and why the ice cream doesn't melt on the stone while they mix it. She asks everyone about their jobs and interests and lives. She gets involved in everyone's lives, except Erica's. Erica and Daisy avoid each other completely, but otherwise, Daisy is everywhere.

     And, that's when it hits him: _Daisy is everywhere._

     Every time they hang out, Daisy is in the center of everyone's conversations. She knows everything that's happening and being said at all times. It creeps Stiles out, and pisses him off. Sometimes you just need some bro time with your best bros and that's hard to do when a not-really-bro tags along.

 

+

 

    Stiles is a good friend. 

    Eff that - Stiles is a _great_ friend. A best friend. _The_ best friend anyone could have!

     Because if he wasn't such a damn good friend he wouldn't have stayed up three extra hours helping Derek write his stupid proposal  - which was utterly useless because all the man had to say was "Daisy will you marry me?" - , or be sitting in a goddamn bush with Cora right now, holding open a small gap in the greenery for Cora's tiny camera to poke subtlety through. All after a seven hour shift making ice cream.

     At least they didn't have Isaac and Laura's or Scott and Erica's jobs; balloons and confetti were going to be a mega nice touch in the end, but holding those helium filled nightmares down had to be annoying even with Laura and Isaac's impressive physiques. And, carrying all that confetti from the store had made his arms go numb, so he could only imagine what sparkly monsters Scott and Erica were going to look like afterwards. 

     It didn't help that Derek had a stick up his ass, either. Stiles understood that the man was nervous and worried and stressed out, but _shit_ , he was being a dick. Scott, Erica, and Isaac had to be there whether they were all friends outside of work or not since Derek was kind of their boss. 

     Well, his dad was. Same thing. 

    And, Cora and Laura were his siblings so that forced them into helping, not to mention their love for their brother. Don't let their icy behavior fool you, that's just a Hale specialty. 

    But, Stiles is here of his own free will. Because he's a _damn good friend._

    There may have also been donuts this morning. He has weaknesses. 

    Those facts did not mean that Derek needed to use his **_BOSS MAN_** voice or talk to Isaac like a two year old, "No the wind is blowing south. That's that way, and if you two let the balloons go behind that bush, they will hit Daisy in the face!" Stiles wasn't sure how Derek knew which way the wind was blowing or even which way was south from where they were standing in the park, but when he asked Derek turned his glare toward Stiles and stalked off. Ass.

     Stiles patted Isaac on the shoulder before he turned to get settled in his and Cora's position.

     It's perfect, actually; Stiles can tell the moment Derek and Daisy stroll into the center of the park. She's laughing and Derek has this nervous smile on his face, his arm around Daisy's middle and the other hand tucked into the pocket of his leather jacket. Stiles feels his stomach tighten when Derek stops in the middle of the walkway. Daisy turns and looks confused until Derek drops to his knee. Stiles has to stop himself from bolting when Daisy covers her mouth in surprise. Cora's clicking pictures as Derek pulls out the ring box and asks _the question,_ and everything is so spectacularly romcom.

     He was right, though. Instead of saying anything, Daisy lunges at Derek and starts crying in a fantastic display of affection right as Laura and Isaac let the balloons go from the bush across from Stiles and Cora. Cora's clicking the button on her camera furiously when Daisy notices the balloons and squeals her delight. Scott and Erica run from their bush and throw the confetti right on time, and Stiles is sure the pictures Cora's capturing are sickeningly sweet and romantic. People are staring in awe. Mostly Stiles just wants to vomit.

     He doesn't, instead he and Cora stand and watch as Daisy says yes over and over again, peppering Derek with kisses. Stiles thinks Derek should look happier than he does, but chalks it up to his own mad imagination. He shoots Derek a grin before gathering his friends and leaving the couple to their celebration.

     Not before yelling, "Ten bucks, Hale!" over his shoulder, however.

 

+

 

     The engagement party is held at one of the premier restaurants in the city. The type of restaurant that you have to make reservations for a year in advance and there aren't any prices on the menu. Stiles has never actually been here before, and he finds himself hating it as soon as he walks in. The walls are adorned with a "hand painted" design using reds and golds that Stiles has the sneaking suspicion is actually wallpaper.

     The Hale's reserved the entire top floor of the building for the party, and as soon as Stiles and Isaac are led into the room, they glance at each other and quietly groan. The tables are adorned with white tablecloths trimmed in gold and small gold vases containing white flowers situated in the middle of the table. The chairs are gold plated, fake of course. Stiles hopes it's fake, at least. And, there's a giant fountain with tiny gold angels pouring water from pitchers smack dab in the middle of the room. Isaac quietly coughs, "Overboard," into Stiles ear as they're led to their table. It's in the back, of course, and Jackson and Lydia are already seated with menus and a huge, glass bottle of water. The flower in their vase is starting to wilt.

     It is all so stupidly elegant that Stiles has to fight the urge to not break something, just because. Erica apparently doesn't have his self-control, though, and "accidentally" knocked her crystal wine glass off onto the floor after being there for about thirty minutes. Erica has some sort of deep seeded dislike of Daisy that Stiles has never been able to figure out the cause of. The one time he'd asked, Erica just rolled her eyes and said, "You wouldn't get it."

     Daisy is being nice, as always, using the all appropriate etiquette, and even going as far as to thank every single person for coming to the party even though the restaurant is full of Derek's coworkers and employees, some of which Stiles has never met. She is flitting about the room draped in a deep blue dress that Stiles is sure cost a fortune, touching each person on the shoulder and leaning in to speak to them gently. When she gets around to Stiles and Scott's table, she grins at the small congregation of friends and pulls up a chair.

     "I can't thank you all enough for helping Der set everything up!" Her voice is cheery and sincere as she glances at each of them at the table.

     "Really, we didn't do much," Stiles dismisses. They didn't, truthfully; Daisy and her mother took over everything immediately after Derek proposed. It had only been a month and Stiles was sure the cake, the flowers, and the save the dates were already ordered. Last year, Daisy threw Derek a surprise birthday party and Stiles received an invitation a month in advance. He received a call two weeks before the party from Daisy asking what he was planning on wearing. He had to send her a picture the day before so she could be sure she approved. It was worse than the time he took Lydia to prom.

     "Don't be so humble, Stiles! I know it was you that helped him pick out the ring, and knowing him, he told you before anyone else," her face is still holding that same elated look, but her eyes take a sharper light as she looks at Stiles. It feels like she's searching his soul for something, waiting for him to slip up, and it is honestly freaking him the hell out.

     Stiles lets a small laugh fall from his mouth, "Yeah, actually Talia knew before me, and I'm pretty sure he only took me because he knew I was free and wouldn't try to sell him the biggest rock in the joint."

     Daisy pulls her hand up from where it was resting on her lap, and looks her ring over, being sure to give the rest of the table a glance as well, "Well, you did an awfully good job, Stiles! I don't know how you managed it; it is perfect!"

     Suddenly, Stiles feels the need to clear his throat. The air around the table has taken a stiff feeling and everyone seems to have felt it, too, judging by the way Isaac shifts uncomfortably and Danny begins refolding his napkin with his eyes locked on the cloth material, "I, uh, Derek actually took for _ever_ picking it out. I was sure the sales lady was going to just let him into their storage room and say, 'Come out when you've found one.'"

     Daisy's eyes are locked on his as she throws her head back and laughs much too loudly at his attempt at a joke. Stiles laughs awkwardly along with her, and glares at everyone else at the table since they don't. When she's calmed down, Daisy pats his shoulder with more force than necessary and excuses herself from the table. It's Lydia who speaks first, "Anybody else get a weird, mean girl vibe?"

     Stiles groans and drops his head against the table.

 

+

 

     Stiles looks for Derek for ten minutes before he finds him huddled outside, leaning against the wall and trying to hide in the shadows. He has a bottle of Jameson and seems to have given up on using a glass, as well as his blazer and tie. Stiles sighs when Derek looks towards him. By the glassiness of his eyes and the tint to his cheeks, Derek's been nursing that bottle, and maybe others, for a while. Stiles plops down next to him, "What's up?"

     Derek stares at him for a moment, eyes shifting lazily over Stiles' face, "There are so many people in there."

     "Yeah," Stiles can't help the small laugh at the slow way Derek's words come out. It brings back memories of drunken escapades and late night adventures. The best way to tell if they're good and drunk is to listen to them speak; Derek sounds like he's speaking in slow motion and Stiles sounds like he's forcing every word out of his mouth at once. It's a hilarious combination. Scott has videos.

     "I didn't want that many people. Only family," Derek's voice has dropped to a whisper and he's leaning toward Stiles, looking at him like he's sharing his family's secret bank vault password instead of sharing a small grievance.

     Stiles pats him on the back and quickly pulls the bottle of whiskey from Derek's grip, setting it behind him, next to the wall and far away from Derek, "It's okay, buddy. We'll have another celebration with just the family, alright?"

     Derek looks terrified as he screeches, "NO!" Stiles flails away from him when Derek grabs the front of his blazer and stares into his eyes when he says, quieter this time, "Everything is a big show. It has to be seen-"

     Derek's interrupted by the door to the balcony being thrown open. Laura rushes through it, looking around wildly for a moment before her eyes land on Stiles and her brother. Her body visibly relaxes and she quickly shuts the door with a, "Oh, thank god."

     Stiles smiles sheepishly up at her as she rushes over and leans down to look at her brother, "I just found him. I think he was getting overwhelmed."

"Daisy's been looking for him for ages! Well, she says she has anyway, who the hell knows," Laura rolls her eyes at her brother's confused eyebrows and moves to pull his arms away from Stiles. "Come on, grump a lump. The party's dying down. I don't think you'll make too bad of an impression on your future in-laws if you stumble out now. Just keep clear of that god awful fountain."

     Derek whines as Stiles helps Laura haul him up, moving towards the door with his friend plastered against him. Before Stiles knows it, Derek's face is pressed against his neck and he's murmuring, "I want to go home, Stiles. Take me home."

     Stiles has to swallow and hesitate at the door to regain his composure, "Yeah, buddy, we'll get you and Daisy home."

Derek's whiny, "No," is cut off by Daisy squealing and rushing to them. Derek startles and Stiles almost loses his grip before Scott is suddenly there, gripping Derek's other side.

     "My goodness!" Daisy exclaims, pulling Derek's face up to look at him. "My poor baby! Let's get you home. Can you carry him to the car?"

     Stiles and Scott exchange a look over Derek's back before both nodding at her.

     "Okay, I have to finish a few things up here, but I'll be down there by the time you get him settled into the car. Thank you so much. You guys are the best!" Then Daisy's gone and everyone still left at the party is staring at them. Stiles clears his throat, and motions to Scott that they should probably get Derek out of there.

     Derek doesn't speak again until they're in the elevator. When Scott lets go to push the garage button, Derek shoves his head against Stiles' neck again, this time rubbing his stubble against Stiles' skin. Stiles gently rubs Derek's shoulder as the man leans into Stiles' body even more, "We're getting you home, dude."

     When Stiles looks up, Scott is staring at him with that look in his eye that teeters on the edge of pity and disbelief. Stiles can't meet his stare.

     They make it to Derek's Camaro without much problem, but when they try to get the man into the passenger seat, he tenses his entire body and grabs Stiles' arm, "Take me home."

     He says it with such force and determination that Stiles is a little taken aback, "We are. Well, Daisy is, but-"

     "No, home, Stiles. The preserve."

     Stiles' stomach drops and he looks to Scott for help, but Scott just looks forlorn and sad. Stiles sighs and gently pulls Derek's hand away to get him better situated in the seat, "We'll go back before the wedding, okay? We can't tonight, but I promise we'll all get together and spend the weekend or something."

     Derek nods, but his eyes look distant as he turns them to stare out the window. Stiles quickly stands and shuts the door before Derek can think to grab him again. He leans against the car for a minute before turning to Scott, who looks like he wants an to ask for an explanation, but instead says, "This is so fucked up."

     Stiles nods, "So very fucked up."

 

+

 

     "So, how'd it go?"

     Stiles sighs, shuffling around until he can get the phone smooshed between his ear and his shoulder and still work on his citations, "Decent? I think. I'm pretty sure that Daisy invited everyone she could think of and it set Derek on edge."

     His father makes a "tisk" sound before saying, "She should know how he is with groups."

     That gives Stiles pause, but he shakes out of it before his thoughts can really go anywhere, "Yeah, you would think. He kept-" Stiles cuts himself off, unsure of how to put it. 

     "Kept?"

     "Kept asking me to take him _home_ , to the preserve," Stiles picks at the edge of his desk. He should really fork out the money for a new  
one, the right side is being held up but milk crates and old textbooks, but he doesn't want to spend any extra money with the wedding coming up, and working at Coldstone only allots for so much extra spending. His dad had taken all of his mother's insurance money and put it in an account for him, but he doesn't like using it for things other than school.

     His dad sighs, and Stiles realizes the man has probably just woken up, "That's a tough one, kid."

     "I told him we'd go back before the wedding."

     " _Stiles,"_ His dad's voice has taken an angry disbelieving tone, and Stiles is hit with memories of his high school days, when he and Scott got in far too much trouble for anyone's good.

     "I know, Dad. But, he just. He was so sad about it-"

     "Coming back here would only make him sadder, Stiles-"

     "But, it's been rebuilt, right? And, only Talia and Ed have seen it. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad," Stiles is convincing himself just as much as he's trying to convince his father, and he knows it.

     "It's a completely different house, but I'm not sure if that'd make it easier or harder for Derek and the kids." Stiles can hear the sound of a coffee pot turning on in the background.

     "That's only one cup, right Pops?"

     He can't help the smile that tugs up his face at his father's quick excuse to end the call, "About to head out, munchkin. Better get going. Love you."

     "Yeah, yeah. See yah, Pops."

 

+

 

     Stiles doesn't remember much about that day.

     He remembers a coffin and lots of flowers and so many black clothes. He can't remember it raining or anything like that, actually he's pretty sure it was sunny which is both terrible and perfect at the same time. She liked sunshine. He remembers running, and how the trees zipped by him. And, the way his suit jacket felt way too tight, the collar of his shirt too high. The rough bark under his hands as he scrambled up a tree.

     Then he remembers Derek. Derek being up in his space. Derek touching his hair and shoulder. Derek telling him to stop crying. Derek listening as Stiles sounds off the names of the stars he can see above them. Derek walking him home. Derek explaining to the sheriff where he'd found Stiles.

     After that night, it was always Derek. Coming over and playing video games with Stiles and Scott. Bringing Stiles home from school with him when the sheriff had to work late. Making a pallet in his floor for Stiles to sleep on. Letting Stiles pick the movie. Beating up Jackson that one time because he made a "your mom's dead joke" at Stiles. Derek helping Stiles and Scott with lacrosse.

     It was always Derek.

 

+

 

     "Dude could you concentrate for two fucking seconds?"

     "It's fucking lagging, I swear to god!"

     "Whatever, Stiles. Buy better internet."

     "Hey! Not all of us are rich as hell, Cora! Right Scott?"

     "Don't bring me into your shit. And, _stay in your lane, Stiles_!"

     "Goddammit! Why did I choose this lane?"

     "I dunno ‘cause you blow at it!"

     Stiles throws his mouse as the words **_DEFEAT_** come on the screen, "Fuck!"

     "Stiles, I am never playing with you again!" Cora screams through his headset as his phone goes off beside him.

     "Hold that thought, yooooo," he says, pulling the headset off his right ear and pressing his phone to it.

     "Her colors are _blue and white_!" comes Lydia's voice.

     "Oh-kay," Stiles responds, flabbergasted at what is happening.

     "The wedding is in autumn!"

     Stiles pulls away from his desk slightly, pulling his phone away from his ear before pressing the W button on his keyboard, "Uh, guys. Lydia's having some kind of crisis over colors. I'll talk to you later."

     "Wait! Is it about the wedding because I am not wearing that dress? It is the worst." Cora makes a sound of disgust.

     "Uh, lemme ask," Stiles says into his microphone, returning to his phone. "Cora wants to know if this is about the wedding? Something about dresses?"

     "Yeah, so apparently Daisy doesn't have many female friends, _shocker_ , so she asked me to be a bridesmaid, since Derek asked all of you to be groomsmen. The dress is blue, Stiles." Lydia sounds as mad as she was when he suggested she just throw on whatever for prom.

     "Oh-kay," he repeats before pressing W to tell Cora that, yes, it was the dresses Lydia was talking about.

     "Oh my god, Stiles. They're _strapless,_ " Cora says the word like it's scandalous.

     "Did she tell you they're all strapless? Even though Daisy's friend is built like a linebacker. It is not flattering," Lydia says at almost the same time.

     Stiles groans, "Why don't you call each other? I don't understand the problem with the colors or the straps."

     This earns him screeches of outrage and words being thrown his way about seasons and the importance of dressing to flatter your shape and how gross it's going to be showing off cleavage at your brother's wedding. Stiles can hear Scott laughing in the background.

     "Jesus Christ, call me back when you're not all crazy! And call each other for this shit!" He yells into both the headset and his phone before disconnecting them. He had things to do anyway.

 

+

 

     If Stiles thought that ring shopping with Derek was bad, he was so utterly wrong. Shopping for his tux with Daisy orchestrating it is a nightmare. One of the ones where you know you're dreaming, but you can't seem to find the exit no matter how many times you run down the same corridors. It is kind of the worst thing he's ever done.

     "I just don't understand why you don't like these?"

     "Daisy, the coats have tails."

     "It's in style, _Derek_."

     "What did we travel back in time, _Daisy_?"

     If the look on Daisy's face was anything to go by, no they have not. Someone had to defuse this situation before it got way out of hand, and the salesclerk is not about to step up to that plate, neither are the rest of his friends. So, naturally Stiles shoots himself in the foot, "Guys, really. It's not that big of a deal. They're just tuxes."

     And, oh shit, Daisy turns her evil eyes onto him and screeches like a goddamn mythical creature, " _Just tuxes_!"

  
     Everyone who was standing around Stiles takes at least three steps back, including his so called bestie Scott. Thank you guys, you are the best of friends, "Yeah, everyone's going to be looking at you, anyway. I'm pretty sure we could buy blazers and khakis from Target and no one would notice."

     Daisy's face should be used in the dictionary next to the word livid because she looks like she's going to start breathing fire in Stiles' direction any minute now. She turns to a stunned Derek and points an accusing finger at Stiles, " _This_ is who you chose to be your best man? I can hear the terrible speech now! I bet he references Batman at least once!"

     "Best man?" Stiles parrots. _What?_ Since when?

     Daisy's jaw drops and Derek's face does that thing where he looks like he's regretting all his choices up until this exact moment in his life. Daisy's voice drops to an enraged whisper, "You didn't even ask him!"

     Derek glances at Stiles and rolls his lips like this is Stiles' fault, which it is very much not, "I haven't had the time."

     The laugh that erupts from Daisy is a little forced and a lot shrill, "Time? Time! I've done everything for this wedding, Derek! Everything! All you had to do was pick your groomsmen and best man, but apparently that's too much for you!"

     Derek's face closes off and his eyes go wide with disbelief as he looks at each person in the room. Isaac has moved back to Stiles' side; thank you, Isaac. Scott's looking at the sample pants hung up around the room. Danny and Jackson both have their phones out, completely ignoring the shit show, and Boyd is staring at them all from the back of the room looking bored. Stiles matches Derek's gaze and shrugs, _I don't know what to tell you, dude. This situation went from one stick of dynamite to a truck of C4 in ten minutes._

Derek returns his eyes to Daisy who looks like she's about to rip Derek's face off slowly, and he says, much calmer than expected, "I work all day every day, sometimes on Saturday. And, every day I come home and ask what you want me to do for the wedding, and _you keep telling me to let you handle it_ , so I do. I haven't asked Stiles yet because it seemed like something that warranted more than a text or phone call and every waking minute that I'm not at work is spent _with you_!"

     Daisy looks absolutely scandalized, with her eyes and mouth wide open and her hand on her chest. She's even taken a few steps back. The two lovebirds continue to stare at each other until suddenly Daisy turns and runs from the room. Everyone stands absolutely still for a minute until the salesclerk says, "I have another couple coming in in twenty minutes."

     Derek ignores him in favor of going after his fiancé. Stiles shoots the clerk a glare before turning to his friends, "Let's go get some pizza down the street."

 

+

 

     Stiles doesn't hear from Derek for a week, until he shows up at Coldstone.

     Derek lets himself in the backdoor like always and weaves his way through the maze of tables and freezers with the ease of someone who does it regularly. He comes up behind Stiles as Stiles is mixing sweet cream and cake mix in a huge tub.

     "Well, well, well. Come to ask me a rather important question?" Stiles smirks back toward Derek and the older man pulls up a stool.

     "I'm sorry about all that shit," Derek looks sorry, which makes Stiles feel like shit even if it's in no way his fault.

     "Dude, no worries. Like, at all. You could have waited until your bachelor party to ask me and I would have said yes. Which, when do you want that to be, be tee dubs? Since, now it's my responsibility to set it up. Strippers or no strippers?" Stiles whisks frantically, trying to break up all the chunks while grinning at Derek, who's rubbing his forehead like he doesn't understand where the spontaneous headache comes from. Spoiler: It's from Stiles.

     "Daisy will murder us all," is Derek's reply, which Stiles laughs and agrees with.

     "Speaking of the beautiful, gentle Daisy," Stiles grins at Derek's groan. "Has the Bridezilla dragon been caged again, or do I need to make myself super scarce for a while?"

     "I have no idea. She claimed I wasn't committed and a bunch of other crap, and made me sleep in the guest bedroom for three days."

     Now that he's looking, Stiles can tell how disheveled Derek looks. Which means, to the untrained eye, he looks like the perfect picture of a businessman. Stiles can see how his tie is just a bit askew, his eyes slightly sunken in, the line of buttons on his shirt not matching the line of the zipper on his pants exactly.

     "This is a thing, right? Like that show. Women go nuts over what they want their wedding to be like. And, if Lydia and Erica's WEtv marathons have taught me anything, it's that the more money there is to spend on a wedding, the more of a disaster the days leading up to said wedding are," Derek groans again and lets his head slam against the metal table next to Stiles' tub.

     "That's another thing. Daisy keeps whining about how she had to ask my friends to be bridesmaids and they hate everything she's picked," Derek stretches his arms across the table and Stiles does not watch the way his shoulder move under that suit.

     Stiles snorts through the images in his head and moves around Derek to open the lid on the ice cream machine, Derek stands and helps him dump the heavy tub into the slot. Stiles swats him away because he's going to get ice cream all over him, and throws the tub and the whisk into the sink when it's empty of ice cream.

     "There's another problem," Derek says, sitting back down on his stool. Stiles groans and leans his butt back against the sink. His coworkers can be heard taking care of a few customers out front, and he should probably see if they need any help. One of the perks of being a manager is that he doesn't necessarily have to.

     "Scott is bringing a plus one," Derek continues, his eyes bearing into Stiles'.

     Stiles takes a deep breath and holds it, puffing out his cheeks before letting it out, "You don't think?"

     "I don't know, but Stiles," Derek makes a tired sound and pinches the bridge of his nose.

     "I'll talk to him, Hale. Make sure," Stiles nods.

     Derek shakes his head, and removes his hand to stare at the ice cream machine making gurgling noises, "No, that's the thing. I think, I think it's okay."

     Well, that's surprising, "Are you sure? I mean it may piss Scott off for a minute, but he'll get over it. It's your wedding, dude."

     Derek shrugs, rubbing his hands together and glancing at Stiles, "She's not- We've met a few times at some fundraisers, and she's cool. Nothing at all like- I don't think it would cause any problems as long as I talk to my family first."

     "I'll be the messenger, if you want," Stiles grins, although he's hoping that Derek does not take him up on that offer. He doesn't even want to be in the same room when the word Argent is mentioned to the Hale family. He commends Derek, though. This is a huge step.

     Derek snorts and stretches before standing and replacing the stool where he'd found it, "Nope. I gotta head back."

     "Want some Rocky Road first?" Stiles asks, wiggling his eyebrows and pointing toward the front of the store with a thumb.

     "Nah, but Stiles?" He declines, making it to the door only to turn around again and meet Stiles' eyes. "Thanks for the engagement party. I don't think I ever thanked you."

     "Dude, not even. That was a month ago," Stiles waves it off.

     Derek smiles and starts to open the door again, stopping and staring at the handle for a minute, "Do you think we could?"

     Stiles sucks in a breath. He'd hoped Derek hadn't remembered that part of the night. He swallowed before answering, "That's up to you, man."

     Derek doesn't meet his eyes, just nods and leaves.

 

+

 

     The thing about Stiles and relationships is that he is very much like the Hales.

     That is to say he now has no plus one to attend the wedding with, and no one to sex him up.

     Life is _wonderful_.

 

+

 

     They do end up back in Beacon Hills.

     They leave about a month and a half before the wedding. Stiles, Scott, Boyd and Isaac are piled into Derek's Toyota- Stiles made a very convincing argument for the Camaro, but one look at how broad Boyd's shoulder are vetoed that idea- and Erica, Cora, and Laura are in Lydia's Honda. Jackson and Danny are _piled_ into Danny's SUV, and Stiles is annoyed that they have so much room at first but then Derek throws most of the luggage into the backseat, and Jackson's face screws up all pissy like. Good.

     It's only a three hour drive to the old Hills, but the first hour feels like it lasts all afternoon. No amount of shitty pop music or half started conversations manages to break the tension in the car. If anything Stiles and Scott's attempts seem to make Derek's shoulders roll increasingly forward and his jaw tick in annoyance, until Stiles finally just starts talking. He doesn't leave any room for anyone to cut in or answer his rhetorical questions, he just talks. About how he's nervous about having turned in his thesis last week. About how Oliver was a complete ass and had some serious toenail clipping issues. About how he can't wait to see his dad. About how Scott's mom got a cat and named her Mittens. About how the Russians his boss hired are hell to work with and he keeps catching Gary making out with them in the freezer. About how there are so many solar systems, and one is going to eventually collide with our own but, amazingly, no planets will hit each other.

     After about an hour, when Stiles feels like his throat is going raw and his jaw is going to fall off, he looks over and sees that Derek's shoulders are no longer making their way to the steering wheel and his face is relaxed. Stiles glances in the rearview to find everyone else asleep with various body parts slung all over the back seat. He bites back a laugh, and returns his eyes to the front. He catches Derek's eye when the man glances over at him.

     "Thanks," If Stiles hadn't been looking at Derek, he would have missed it.

     Stiles shrugs, "No worries." And, after a moment, "Wanna talk about it?"

     Derek shakes his head at first, hands tightening on the steering wheel, body threatening to seize up again, but then he seems to shake himself out of it. He sighs, dropping one arm from the wheel, "I am freaking the hell out. I mean, what if we get there and it's just, just the same? What if it feels familiar? What if it feels wrong? What if the whole town looks at me like they know? Because they do! They all know! What if someone comes up to me? What if someone comes by the house-"

     "Dude," Stiles tries to cut him off, but Derek keeps going.

     "What if I walk by the wrong spot? What if I can't even go to Starbucks? Is the grocery store the same? Is there still that broken traffic light one 3rd? What-"

     "Dude!" Stiles repeats, louder this time, grabbing Derek's shoulder. "You are totally going to be okay, and if you're not, we can _go home_."

     Derek takes a deep breathe, his eyes wide and his mouth still open mid-word, before he swallows and nods, "Thanks."

     Stiles grins at him, pats his shoulder, and starts talking again, ignoring the bad feeling that has started to bubble in his gut.

 

+

 

     The house is beautiful and completely different than the original was.

     The first Hale house was a two story, brick Georgian, with green shutters and towering columns. It had been a monster, one of those homes _Better Homes and Gardens_ would have done a piece on. Some might have called it a "dream home." The new house is more of a Victorian style, with wood cutouts adorning the gutters and yellow siding covering the outer walls. It looks smaller than the original, but that could be an illusion. The forest swallows them up when they turn down the Hale's driveway, forming a tunnel that frames the house perfectly.

     It feels a little like they're looking at a gingerbread house.

     Derek sucks in a breath as they get closer and Stiles automatically puts a hand on his shoulder. He's thankful that the others are still asleep and the other cars are slow to catch up when Derek parks the car and stares at where it all went down. Derek is tense again, his entire body looks like it's going to shrivel up as he stares at the blue door, the pink petunias, the second story balcony. Stiles sits with him until he feels like he's about to burst. When he opens his mouth to say something, Derek quietly unclips his seatbelt, and gets out of the car.

     Stiles follows him, up the walkway, up the front steps, right up to the front door. Derek has his keys out, but his hand is shaking and he's looking at the doorknob like he doesn't know how to work it. Slowly, Stiles takes the key from Derek and unlocks the door. It's Derek that pushes it open, though. He slaps his hand against it, making it slam into the opposite wall as it opens. The house smells musty, a little stale. There's a small foyer that opens up to a large, bright living room which Derek stalks through. Stiles doesn't follow, instead he sits on the plush couch and admires the bay window. It will be great to read on.

      Derek walks back in, slightly calmer, a few minutes later and sits down next to Stiles. He's on the edge of the couch, which is a shame because this thing is fantastic, and he's wringing his hands together, eyes distant. He says, "There's no basement."

     Stiles nods, "I know. Didn't Talia tell you that?"

     "Yeah, but," Derek makes a waving gesture and shrugs.

     Stiles gets it, he needed to be sure. Stiles did, too, but he looked up the building permits instead.

     "Let's get those idiots up. We need to get unpacked before we go get groceries and I know Isaac will take forever," Derek grumbles, and the way he says it makes Stiles think everything might be alright.

 

+

 

     He's wrong. It is not alright, because he is losing at Pictionary and he never frackin' loses at Pictionary.

     "It's a fox, Erica. A fox!"

     "Whatever, that's a fucking cat!"

     "For the love of god, why are we on the same team?"

     "Because Boyd refuses to play board games with me!"

     "I can fucking see why! I'm getting a drink! We forfeit!" Stiles ignores Scott and Laura's cheering as he marches back into the house to get himself a beer. He finds Cora standing at the island, nursing one herself while staring out the window to the game on the deck. Sounds of a hockey game on TV can be heard coming from the living room. Stiles opens the fridge and pulls out a bottle, popping the cap off with the bottle opener and leaning next to Cora.

     "What's up, buttercup?"

     Cora doesn't flinch at the awful nickname, choosing to down the rest of her bottle instead and using it to point outside. At one person in particular. "Is he fucking stupid or what?"

     Stiles rolls his head to try to get ready for this particular conversation and takes a heavy swig, the beer leaving a bitter taste in his mouth, "Derek said it's fine."

     "Yeah well, our Derek is also stupid, so."

     "They're not the same person, Cora," Stiles says it with conviction, with force, because he believes it.

     Cora sets her empty glass down gently, turning to Stiles to look at him with the same look she's always given him. The look that says he's as stupid as Derek, "They're all the same person, Stiles."

     "What, like all of you?" Stiles fires back, and the hard look she gives means he's hit on something. "Like you're just like Laura. And, she's just like Talia who is also just like Peter. But, that would mean you're also like _Derek_." He doesn't have to say what he's implying for her to get it- he knew he wouldn't.

     She goes on the defensive, body tight like her brother's was earlier, "Don't."

     "Cora, just," Stiles runs a hand down his face, then rubs it up and down a few times. "It's Derek's choice. You and Laura  _and Talia_ have to let him choose." 

     "Yeah, well, sometimes-"

     "We're not going to talk about that, Hale. Not while we're in this house, in this town," It's a request, an order, and Cora takes it as such, tossing her bottle into the trash and stomping from the room.

     She stops at the door, doesn't turn back to him, and says, "It was my life, too, Stilinski."

     And Stiles' heart aches as she leaves.

 

+

 

     The next day is spent at the lake behind the house, tossing each other off the small ledge and dock, floating out into the middle of the water. There's sunshine, and minnows nibbling on still toes, and the smell of trees. There's beer, and laughter, and belly flops. It's magnificent and everyone is laughing. They grill burgers for lunch and eat them at the picnic tables under the old willow tree. It still looks the same as it did when they were kids, that old tree. It still moves without any wind, seems to answer unasked questions when you look up into its branches. Stiles used to think it was magic. Now he's sure it is.

     They play a game of "touch" football- meaning it turned violent quickly. Laura slammed into Erica who took it out on Jackson who took that out on Scott who hit Derek on accident, and all hell broke loose until everyone ended up in one big pile. It was the best kind of pile, one that didn't feel too constricting or crushing, felt comfortable and recharging. Until Cora screeched something about a spider and took off back to the lake, everyone trailing behind her.

     They end the day with smores cooked over a small fire and more beer until everyone is giggling and relaxed.

     It ends with Derek smiling.

 

+

 

     Hell comes to Beacon Hills the next morning in a black Lincoln.

     A well-known black Lincoln. 

     "Daisy?" Derek questions from the driveway as his fiancé and her three friends fall out of the car all grace and poise. Like they're at a fashion shoot.

     She smiles at him and gestures to the trunk, "Wanna help me with my bags, sweetie?"

     Stiles watches in horror as Derek obediently moves to the back of the car to do as he was asked. Stiles turns to his friends, who have gathered in the drive to see who the hell was driving up and gets a variety of confused and angry looks in return. Daisy and her friends leave Derek to get their shit and walk straight through the congregation of friends and into the house. Daisy pats him on the shoulder as she passes and one of her friends smirks at him. He wants to trip them; Erica actually tries to.

     The gang follows the new additions into the house with grumbles of displeasure as Stiles goes to help Derek with the many, many bags.

     "Dude, what the hell?" He asks, lifting an incredibly heavy bag.

     Derek, who's already carrying three on one arm, sighs, "I have no idea."

     "I can promise that Erica won't harm your wife-to-be, but her friends are on their own," Stiles warns, hefting out more bags.

     Derek closes the trunk with more force than necessary and leaves Stiles standing there like an ass with three designer pieces of luggage on his arms.

     Seriously, what the hell.

 

+

 

     Stiles tries. He really does. He brings them beer, and snacks, and tries to involve them in conversations. But, they all snub the beer and snacks and only want to talk about the wedding, which they brought with them. Literally.

     There are wedding books and magazines open everywhere, swatches of fabric covering every surface. They even brought the bridesmaids dresses with them, which makes Erica fume since she isn't a bridesmaid. To top it all off, Derek is aloof. Stiles catches glimpses of his body parts- a shoulder here, a leg retreating around a corner there- but hasn't spoken to him since the girls showed up the day before. It's stupid, so stupid, because they came here to get away from the stress of the wedding, to regroup as a friend/family unit, to introduce the Hales to the new house. This was supposed to be about Derek, and now it's not.

     Everyone is on edge and teetering toward either leaving or throwing every wedding related thing into the lake, when Stiles and Scott decide it is time for a break and corale everyone into the cars, or try to at least. The Wedding Girls refuse to go out, stating that they have "just too much to do," and Derek chooses to stay and help after Daisy shoots him a nasty look. There's only so much you can do to help a person, right? Lead a horse to water and all that shit.

     The Hale Gang ends up at the bowling alley where the sheriff and Melissa meet them. Stiles hasn't seen his father face to face in months and he's more excited than he expected to be when the old man walks through the door. The two parents seem shocked when the entire group rushes them. The sheriff looks a little tired, but not much more than he used to when Stiles still lived in Beacon Hills, and he looks thinner. Maybe he's actually been sticking to his diet and work out regiment Stiles set up for him. He brings it up when his father wraps him up in a Stilinski hug, and the man just laughs.

     "Don't worry, I've been shoving spinach and collard greens down his throat," Melissa says with a smile, replacing the sheriff when he lets go of his son.

     "Well that's good because Stiles has been living off of old pizza and Subway for the last few months," Lydia cuts in, pulling Melissa in for a hug of her own.

     Stiles avoids his father’s cutting eyes, "Yes, thank you for that, Lydia. It's called stress eating and Subway is healthy."

     "Don't play me," the nurse eyes him. "You forget that I know what you order on your subs."

     "Menaces. You are all menaces," He says as the group laughs at him, walking away from his not friends and over to the concession stand. He orders four pitchers and three pizzas when his dad steps up beside him.

     "School is rough, huh?"

     Stiles shrugs, "Yeah, it's not so bad now that I turned everything in."

     "Think you did well?"

     "Yeah, we'll see."

     "I know you did, son," his dad smiles at him, dropping a hand to his shoulder and squeezing slightly. He glances around after letting go of Stiles' shoulder. His gaze lingers on the group as they battle over who's on whose team and which bowling ball belongs to whom and which of the four lanes each team should inhabit. "Where's-"

     Stiles groans as the concession clerk piles a tray with plastic cups and the two of the four pitchers of beer, "Daisy showed up and brought WEtv with her. He's be confiscated."

     "WEtv?" The sheriff looks totally confused.

     Stile rolls his eyes, grabbing the tray and making his way back to his friends, "He got sucked back in to the world of lace and glitter."

     The sheriff stops walking causing Stiles to stop and turn to him.

     "I'm sorry, son," He says. His eyes are doing that thing where they search Stiles' soul, and Stiles has to turn away from it.

     "No worries, let's just whip some ass at bowling," Stiles rushes as fast as he can back to the gang and they call out their excitement for the alcohol. He's going to enjoy this day, dammit, because his dad is here and they are the best bowlers ever.

 

+

 

     Danny snaps. It's surprising, really, because out of all of them Danny and Boyd are the calm ones, but all it takes is them returning home to find one of Daisy's friends- Felicia, Stiles thinks that's her name- "borrowing" Danny's computer and all bets are off. Danny's computer is his life, especially since it's his job and all.

     Everyone is screaming at each other and objects are flying through the air. Any effects of the alcohol seem to have worn off as everyone is enunciating perfectly. Talking over each other and yelling, but enunciating nonetheless. Stiles is staring at the madness when he notices Derek slip from the room. He follows, of course, and Derek leads him into the thick branches of the willow tree where the man plops down in the grass. Stiles debates going back into the house and leaving Derek to clear his head, but he has missed his friend since Daisy and the Girls arrived. And, this was supposed to be a dude's week. Well, a dude's and dudette's week, so Stiles flops down in front of Derek and waits.

     Derek stares at him for a while, the sound coming from the house getting louder, before he says, "Daisy wants to move the wedding here."

     Shocked is not the word to describe Stiles. Confused, astonished, stunned, all of the above might work, " _Here_?"

     Derek looks tired and strung out, his body loose and limbs hanging without thought, "She was mad that I never told her how pretty it was. She says it's the perfect place."

     "Dude, you don't have to-"

     Derek shrugs, "It's what she wants so whatever."

     Stiles' anger flares up. This is ridiculous, "It's your wedding, too, yah know? This isn't some small, bullshit thing; this is fucking marriage. This is huge, Derek. You keep acting like it's nothing, like it's just something you decided to do one day. Daisy's walking all over you and you're just letting her!"

     "What am I supposed to do, Stiles?" Derek asks, his voice loud and demanding.

     "Fucking fight back! I mean, look at this week! This was supposed to be a Hale family week. A healing week, and she shows up with her fucking followers and fucks up everything!"

     "What do you want me to do? Tell her to leave? That she can't be here? She's going to become my _wife_ soon, Stiles. That makes her a Hale, and the sooner you and my sisters and Erica get the fuck over it, the better."

     Stiles doesn't say anything until Derek stands and starts to walk back toward the house, "Have you told her?"

     Derek stops midstride, but doesn't turn back toward Stiles. He doesn't need to, Stiles already knows the answer, "You need to tell her, man. Before the wedding. Before you allow her to move the wedding to this house. Before you lead your entire family unit and her's back here."

     Derek still doesn't answer, instead he resumes walking. Stiles thinks it's time to go home.

 

+

  
     Stiles doesn't know what happened.

     There was a time when he didn't go three days without talking to Derek. Their parents used to exploit it- "Where's Derek?" "Where ever Stiles is." But, now it's been two weeks and Derek still hasn't returned his apology voicemail.

     He's starting to wonder if he's still the best man or not.

 

+

 

     "Don't you fucking do it."

     " _Erica_."

     "Do not-"

     " _Eri-"_

     "No! I fucking hate that voice, you ass!"

     The group is laughing so hard that Isaac's use of The Grudge voice to say Erica's name is almost blocked out.

     "Come on, you guys, she obviously hates that," Allison says. Sweet, fun ruining Allison.

     Erica grins at her, leaning over Boyd a little to say to Scott, "I like her. Bring her more often."

     Allison smiles like she doesn't really know how to react, but Scott must because he is beaming. He throws his arm around Allison and pulls her close, smile still intact. Stiles raises his beer in a silent toast and everyone follows. He actually likes Allison, which is surprising since he was worried he may have to stop himself from cringing in her presence. It wasn't his fault that Scott talked about her until Stiles was forced to put the phone on mute and walk away from it. He feels like he already knows more about her than she would be comfortable with and that makes him feel creepy.

     A loud knock interrupts Erica's attempt to stop Isaac from using the voice again with a pillow to the face, and Stiles jumps up to grab the door thinking Cora may have changed her mind or Lydia finished her book early. He's met with a Hale of a different name. And gender.

     "Stiles," Derek's voice is tight, and the voices behind Stiles stop instantly, guiltily.

     Stiles meets his eyes and motions down the hall behind him. Derek nods and turns from the doorway. Stiles shoots a look at his friends behind him before following. The walk down the hall to the stairs and up to the roof of Stiles' apartment building is quiet and electrified. Stiles is conflicted; he's sorry for the way he treated Daisy, but he also feels like he and all their friends are owed an apology by both Daisy and Derek and Daisy's friends.

     Derek stops at the edge of the building, where the only thing separating his body and falling twenty stories is a small, brick half-wall. He leans his arms on it, and Stiles notices how he's in his gym shorts and his shirt is sticking to his back and shoulders, "Dude, did you run here?"

     Derek shrugs, "This was the only time I had off. There's big shit going down at the company."

    Stiles nods even though Derek's looking out at the city instead of at him, and leans his butt against the wall.

     They're both quiet for a while, the night air turning a little crisp as the sun slips down beneath the skyline. Stiles stares up at the sky, the part where a few stars aren't blocked out by the city lights. He names them off in his head, clicks them off of a check list. It hits Stiles then, as he takes note of the moon, how close it is to fall and to the wedding. It hasn't been that long really, since Derek called him to tell him the good news. Only months.  

     "I'm sorry that I haven't called you back," Derek's voice cuts through the silence and Stiles' thoughts, shaking Stiles out of whatever path his mind had been taking him.

     "It hasn't been that long. You've had your hands full, I'm sure," Stiles doesn't mean for it to come out as harsh as it does, but his mind is madder than he thought it was apparently.

     Derek stares at his hands, rubs them together, "There isn't an excuse. I was just pissed off, and a little embarrassed, I guess. I was kind of a dick."

     "Well, you didn't have to kick all of us out, but we deserved most of it. We were also dicks," Stiles doesn't want to be angry. He doesn't want anyone to be angry. He has spent the last few weeks angry and it's taking a toll on his mind. "I want you to know that I don't hate your fiancé, and I don't hate the thought of you getting married. I just, man, you've seriously never talked about marriage until a few months ago. And, this shit has taken over your life. I mean, I can't have a conversation with any of our friends without it involving something about the wedding!"

     Derek laughs at that, quiet at first, but then it turns a little crazed, "How do you think I feel? She won't even let me help! She just complains about everything and goes to get her nails done! She asked me which plant I liked best in the bouquets and made me sleep in the guest room when I told her the green one! I'm pretty sure I've slept in our guest bed more than my bed since this shit started."

     Stiles can't help but laugh at the way Derek's throwing his arms around while talking. It's something he doesn't do often and it always looks hilarious. He coughs out of it when Derek glares at him, "Sorry, I just, you're an idiot."

     Derek huffs, leaning his arms back on the wall. He's staring out at the city again, his face long and tired.

     "Are you happy?" Stiles asks, because he needs to know.

     Derek doesn't move for a moment, but his brow furrows and his nose scrunches a little before he turns his confused look toward Stiles, "What?"

     "That's all that matters dude. Are you happy?" Stiles shrugs, because it is.  

     Derek stares at him, the look still stuck on his face, and nods slowly, "Yeah, I- I mean, I feel- happy, yeah."

     "That was the least convincing thing I have ever heard," Stiles tells him, and he looks sheepish.

     Derek sighs, runs his hands over his face, "I was happy before this wedding grew wings and two, fire breathing heads. I'm just hoping that after this is over, Daisy will go back to normal and everything will be good again."

     Stiles throat feels dry, "You love her, though, right?"

     Derek's head pops up at that. He looks straight into Stiles' eyes, and Stiles' hopes he doesn't look as nervous as he feels. Derek nods slowly, his eyes so wide he looks a little scared and when he speaks his voice sounds rough, "Yes. I do."

     Stiles doesn't let his inner turmoil bubble to the surface. He doesn't let Derek see his last remaining hope shatter. He doesn't let it affect his outer appearance whatsoever, because it shouldn't. This should be a reassuring thing for Derek, no matter how terrified the man looks. Stiles grins, lets it light up his face, "Then it'll all work out. Power of love and all that. Now, would you like to join us downstairs for some good old times with the crew both new and old?"

     Derek laughs at him and it almost looks real, "I guess I owe them an apology, huh?"

     "That you do. Also, Allison's here and you should probably talk a little before the wedding. I've attempted to get her ready to meet the Hales, but having an insider couldn't hurt," Stiles grins at Derek's pained face and grips his arm to haul the man back to the door, swallowing the nausea he's suddenly feeling.

 

+

 

     Derek apologizes to everyone.

     Erica makes a pouty face that totally gets to him before punching his arm.

     Isaac and Boyd shrug it off.

     Scott accepts with a bro-hug and then reintroduces Allison.

     Stiles wants to smash something, but forces fake happiness instead.

 

+

 

     Bachelor and Bachelorette parties should not be combined. Ever.

     Case in point: this shit right here.

     Everyone's pissy and bored and this club sucks and there aren't any strippers of either gender and Stiles is not drunk enough for any of it. He had an awesome party planned, a real "last night out" party. With strippers, which Stiles thinks is important, and he planned to pay ahead for an open bar instead of making the guests pay for their own drinks. Stiles is stuck at a table with a not drunk at all Erica, Danny, and Jackson because Daisy chose all of them to be the DDs, while everyone else dances. Stupidest decision ever. Daisy and her friends are getting forgotten at the end of the night.

     "So, okay I get why she would dislike Danny now, and everyone slightly dislikes Jackson and me, I guess, but why does she hate you so much?" Stiles asks Erica, who scowls at him. They're in the quiet part of the bar, where it's easy to find them if one of the drunkies need them.

     "I may have slept with her boyfriends," She says with a roll of her eyes.

     "Wait," Danny cuts in. "Boyfriends? Plural?"

     "It was an accident," Erica sighs.

     "Both times or just one of them?" Jackson asks with a laugh.

     Erica flips them off before standing and making her way to the bar. They're still chuckling at her when Daisy stumbles through the door that leads into the rowdy part of the club with music and rainbow lights following her. She stumbles for a few steps before finding the hallway that leads to the restrooms and a back exit. Stiles watches her, amused until he glances at Danny who is definitely telling Stiles to go check on her with his face. Stiles curses, fucking nice guy Danny, and makes his way to the hallway. He makes it just in time to see Daisy's back retreating out the back exit. He sighs at his life choices and follows her to make sure she doesn't get lost or stolen or something worse. He finds her curled up against the brick wall of the building and he's pretty sure he hears her crying. He flails around for a minute before deciding that he should try to console her somehow if he ever wants to hang out with his friend after the wedding and plops down next to her.

     She glances over at him, all runny mascara and smeared lipstick, and says, "Oh, it's you."

     He rolls his eyes and replies, "Yep, just me. Just the only one who thought to make sure you were alright and not going to be on tomorrow’s news."

     She sniffs and glares at him which is ineffective since she has snot coming out of her perfectly upturned nose, "You didn't have to, you know. I know you hate me."

     "Oh, for the love of god. Are you seven? I don't hate you," he groans.

     "Yes!" She screeches at him, and Stiles totally gets why Derek would try anything to make her happy. That sound is horrendous. "You do! All Der's friends do! No one wants anything to do with this stupid wedding and no one likes any of my choices and every time I show up anywhere everyone scatters. I just don't understand, why can't you people at least try? I'm trying!"

     Stiles can't help but scoff at that, "You've been holding Derek hostage-"

     "Well, excuse me for wanting my future husband to help me with the preparations of our wedding," she spits at him.

     "Hey, we all could have helped if you would have let us," Stiles replies. It's mostly true.

     She laughs at him, it's a broken sounding and gives Stiles pause, "Yeah I tried that. His sisters and the redhead almost refused to be bridesmaids because of the color of the dresses!"

     "Okay, that's pretty shitty, but that's just how they handle things. And, it's awful and annoying, but you're joining this family so you'll have to get used to a certain amount of idiot Hale children." Did Derek even warn her about how the family runs?

     Daisy scowls, "That's another thing. You all talk like you're one big family, but you're not Derek's family! Only Cora and Laura are related!"

     Stiles laughs at her partially because Derek really didn't explain shit to this poor girl and partially because she looks so confused, "Derek is such a dick. Look, we're all sort of adopted by the Hales. We're pseudo family because we have muddled through so much shit. Our individual families are also honorary Hales, so get ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas."

     Daisy stares at him for a moment before she tears up again and says, "I never even wanted to get married. Ever."

     Well, _that's_ a new development, "What?"

     She shakes her head, "I didn't. Not ever. Everyone I know has the worst luck at relationships and my mom has been married three times already. I only said yes because she said there wouldn't be anyone better than Derek."

     Stiles feels sick, befuddled, and a bit betrayed, "You didn't want this?"

     "No," she sniffs. "I love Derek, okay. I do, but going from being on my own to suddenly being surrounded by people who dislike and don't trust me sucks. And, my friends are just eating it up, so's my mom. No one cares that I feel like this wedding is drowning me."

     Stiles feels contrite. He never even thought of Daisy's feelings. He only saw her as the crazy woman who was trying to tear his family unit apart, not someone who was forced into this, "You don't have to get married, you know."

     The look she gives Stiles makes him feel like he's a child, "Oh, Stiles. If only it were that easy."

     "It is. If you don't want to get married, then tell Derek. He won't blame you, okay?" He's being honest. Derek would be heartbroken, but it will be so much worse if Daisy hides this from him. She should know that if- "Derek still hasn't told you has he?"

     Daisy raises an eyebrow at him and for a moment all he can think of is how their children's eyebrows are going to look until she says, "Told me what?"

     Stiles is officially pissed. This is shitty, super shitty. The wedding is in a week and both parties are hiding some serious shit from one another. He grabs Daisy's arm and hauls her up, ignoring her squawk and dragging her back through the door into the club. He deposits her next to a confused Jackson and instructs her to stay there while he goes in search of a certain Hale. It's a good thing that said Hale bursts through the doors leading into the other room as Stiles goes to find him because Stiles fully intended on stealing the DJ's microphone and calling him some choice names. Derek looks around frantically before his eyes land on Daisy and he visibly relaxes. He begins to move toward her, but Stiles meets him halfway, "You still haven't fucking told her."

     Derek looks bewildered for a split second before his expression closes off, "I haven't-"

     "No!" Stiles cuts him off. "Do not say you haven't had time, because this is a huge deal, Derek."

     "I know it is," Derek tries to go around him and Stiles sidesteps to get back in his way.

     "You are getting married in a week!" Stiles reminds him.

     Derek clenches his fists and looks about ready to hit Stiles in the jaw with one when he slowly says, "I know that, Stiles."

     "You need to tell her tonight. She doesn't understand why we're all so protective of you and why we don't trust her yet. She's flipping the hell out," Stiles pushes Derek's chest when the man goes to move around him again. A small circle of people has formed around them, like they're going to get into a fight.

     Derek takes a few deep breathes, rolls his neck some like he's trying to relieve some pressure. He stares at Stiles for a beat before nodding once, "Take Daisy home, Stiles."

     Stiles backs up, confused. Where did that come from? What has it got to do with anything?

     Derek continues to stare at him, "Stiles, take Daisy home and tell her everything."

     Oh. _Oh_. "No, dude, I-"

     "Stiles," Derek says his name like it's a lifeline. "Please."

     He doesn't want to. It's not his place or his story and he starts to say no again when Derek says, "Please," again, quieter this time.

     He sighs, "I'll come back and get you, okay?"

     At Derek's nod, Stiles turns and retrieves a concerned looking Daisy, "We have to have a talk."

 

+

 

     "There's a reason we don't trust you, two actually," Stiles tells her on the way to Derek's apartment. "One's name is Kate the other's is Jennifer."

     Daisy groans in the passenger seat, "I am not going to pay for other women's mistakes."

     "No," Stiles says. It's a demand for her to shut up, "You don't get it, and Derek hasn't talked about Kate since he got out of rehab or Jennifer since he testified at her trial. So, I'm going to tell you what happened with them, and you are going to listen without interrupting me because thinking about them makes me incredibly angry. Got it?"

     He glances at her for a response and is met with confusion as she asks, "Rehab? Trial?"

     "Yeah. So, shut it and listen." He waits for her to nod before he starts, "When we were in high school and everyone still lived in Beacon Hills, we weren't popular. Derek didn't start bulking up until we graduated so he was skinny with these big bunny teeth. Kate came along and he thought he'd fallen into a romance novel. We were all super happy for him and jealous because Kate was hot as hell, but we didn't know what was going on." He has to pause and grip the wheel a little tighter to reign in his anger, "Her father was the biggest heroin distributor in northern California. He was using his son's company to cover his tracks, so no one realized it. She convinced Derek that it was the cool thing to do."

     Daisy whispers, " _Shit_ ," before apologizing and asking him to continue.

     He really doesn't want to. He feels like he's burning up, so he rolls down his window to let some air in, "We didn't know, alright? No one knew what was going on. They would wait until everyone was asleep and then go down to the basement. One night Kate decided she wanted to go up to Derek's room afterwards and shoot up some more, and Derek- he- he did anything she wanted. But, they were too fucked up, and they dropped the zippo on his floor and forgot about it. Laura was sneaking in from a party and smelled the smoke. When she opened Derek's door Kate was gone and Derek was passed out surrounded by flames."

     Stiles has to stop talking and roll down the rest of the windows in the car. He thinks about calling Derek and asking if he really wants Stiles to tell Daisy everything, but he already knows the answer. "When they pulled him out and evacuated, he had to be taken to the hospital. He had to be detoxed and everything, and when they undressed him, they- they found a lot of bruising. Police wanted a, um, a rape kit run so Talia asked Scott's mom to oversee it."

     He hears Daisy suck in a breath, he doesn't look at her because he knows if he does he won't be able to continue, "Kate was a sick, psychotic sadist and she got Derek high enough that he couldn't resist anything she wanted to do to him. Derek had to go into rehab and take intensive therapy for years. I never even knew what exactly had happened until a few years ago when Derek told me."

     "Stiles," Daisy says and he can tell that she's crying without looking at her.

     "We accepted her, everyone loved her, Daisy," he needs her to understand why they're the way that they are. "She took everything from him. If Laura hadn't have broke curfew, they all would have burned alive."

     They sit in silence for a while. Stiles is stewing in anger and hate and resentment. They don't think about her, they don't talk about her, they stay away from everything that ever had anything to do with her. Stiles laughs, "And, it didn't stop! After Derek finally got everything going, he met another one. Another crazy woman who turned out to be a serial killer and kidnapped my dad!"

     "Jesus Christ," Daisy says.

     "Yeah, so that's why we're all so intense about one Derek Hale," Stile can feel the moisture in his eyes as he pulls up to Derek's apartment building.

     Daisy doesn't move, "Stiles, that's awful. I never- I don't even-"

     "Just don't- It's probably best if you just don't mention it. Don't try to coddle him or anything. He won't talk about it, and making him think about it would be pretty shitty, so just leave it. You know now, and you can understand everything better. And, you know why you have to voice your reservations about marriage to him, so just leave it at that, " Stiles doesn't look at her as she agrees with him. He doesn't even glance as she gets out of the car, not until she says his name.

     "Thank you. And, I'm sorry about before," she says.

     Stiles nods as she closes the door and walks up to the front door.

 

+

 

     He picks Derek up outside the club. Derek tells him that Danny, Jackson, and Erica said they could handle everyone else and directs Stiles not to take him home.

     They drive to Stiles' apartment in silence. Stiles makes up the couch in silence. They get ready for bed in silence, Stiles giving Derek the only pair of pajamas he owns that will fit the larger man. And, then they go to sleep.

     When Stiles wakes up, Derek is gone but there's a note next to the refrigerator that says 'Thank you.'

 

+

  
     Stiles spends the next few days in a haze.

     He feels numb and terrified at the same time. He keeps staring at his tux hanging on the shower rod with contempt. It's ugly, with the tail and the dark blue waistcoat. He's glad Daisy decided against the top hat and the cane, but annoyed that he doesn't have anything else to be pissed about.

     This is stupid; this whole thing is stupid. His stupid crush that he's harbored for years, his stupid brain for expecting this whole thing to just blow over, his stupid heart for being unable to feel anything other than lust for any person who isn't Derek. Stupid Derek with his stupid jawline and his stupid eyelashes and his stupid muscles. His stupid way of laughing and his stupid love of house plants and his stupid thinking face.

     Stiles is an idiot.

 

+

 

     The wedding sneaks up on him.

     Well, not really. Kind of. It feels like he's been simultaneously waiting forever and only an hour for the day to come.

  
     They all drive out to Beacon Hills two days before. The groomsmen and Derek's family are all supposed to stay at the Hale house while the bridesmaids and Daisy's family stay at the inn in town. The Hale house has been transformed into a wedding oasis with a giant tent in the backyard for the reception and chairs lined up in front of the willow tree for the ceremony, but Stiles just can't. He stays with his dad instead. He brings his tux with him, so he isn't worried about getting ready the day of the wedding.

     It's nice actually, being greeted by his dad when he walks in the door, seeing his old jeep sitting in the drive, smelling the familiar smell of _home_. It has been too long and when he apologizes for not visiting enough his dad gets misty eyed. He tells Stiles that it's okay, he understands, but it's really not and Stiles feels awful for it. There was a time when Stiles told everyone willing to listen that he was never leaving Beacon Hills or his dad or his mom, but that time was long gone. Burned with the ashes of the old Hale house and buried with his mom.

     Being back in his old bedroom brings back a flood of emotions and reservations. His chest feels tight as he drops his bag and his tux in a heap on his rug. It looks exactly like it did when he was in high school minus a few mementoes that he took with him when he left.

     His dad's voice pulls him back, "You alright, son?"

     "Yeah, yeah," he answers, turning toward where his dad is standing in his doorway. The old man looks good, better than he did during The Disaster Week. Or, was Stiles not paying enough attention last time? Stiles is struck with the sudden feeling of having been out of it for a while, like he missed a lot, too much. How long has he been in this fog? When was the last time he paid attention to anything that was happening around him? The world was moving around him and he wasn't even watching it happen.

     "Stiles?" His dad's in front of him, confusion radiating off of him.

     Stiles collects his breathe- when did he even start to lose it?- and nods, "Yeah, sorry. A lot is going on, I guess. I'm just a little- yeah."

     The sheriff's face is still scrunched and he's searching Stiles' in that way that speaks of years of police experience as well as general Stiles wrangling experience, but he nods, too, "I can see that. Do you want some tea?"

     Stiles' throat constricts. That's an old, old trick and the fact that it's being brought out is telling in and of itself, but combined with his dad's knowing eyes, Stiles knows it's all shot to hell. He shouldn't be surprised, and he really shouldn't have tried to hold it back from his dad in the first place. That was a foolish thing to try, and if he has a few tears in his eyes when he follows his dad downstairs for tea, that's his own damn business.

 

+

 

     They don't talk about it.

     They don't talk about much of anything. They just sip their tea until it's time to head back to the preserve for the rehearsal and the dinner afterward. It helps nonetheless, makes his heart settle and his brain reboot a bit. Enough for him to not feel too nervous until they were pulling up to the Hale's.

     Voices can be heard coming from the back of the house as Stiles and his dad get out of the car. They follow the noise to find the wedding party and a few of Daisy's family mingling around the area designated for the ceremony. It's beautiful; everything is goddamn beautiful and serene. There are flowers and tiny strings of light hanging from the branches of the willow held by ribbon. There's an archway covered in the same flowers situated at the head of the aisle where the pastor will stand and a white aisle runner leading up to it.

     Stiles' eyes find Derek immediately and his emotions return full force. The man's standing in front of an older woman with a pained look on his face. He looks almost ready to bolt, his eyes glancing around for an out. Stiles stops when Derek's eyes meet his. Derek gives the woman an apologetic smile and says something to her before making his way to Stiles.

     Stiles can't do this. He's going to upchuck his tea.

     A firm hand on his shoulder pulls his eyes from Derek to his dad who's standing next to him.

     "Stiles, it's okay," the sheriff says, and with a firm look and a squeeze to Stiles' shoulder, he's gone.

     Derek and Stiles' dad give each other nods of acknowledgement as they pass and Stiles seriously considers bolting.

     Derek is on him before he can go through with it, "Hey."

     "Hey," Stiles replies, looking anywhere but his friend's eyes.

     Derek gives him a weird look, "Everything okay?"

     Stiles smiles much too wide and nods with enthusiasm, "Yeah, man. Just, uh, hungry. When do we eat?"

     Derek doesn't look convinced but relays the night's itinerary anyway.

 

+

 

     Stiles is a fucking idiot.

     He's a tool. A loser. A stupid fucking tool loser. All of the above, and he's about to claw his fucking eyes out. He's standing behind Derek in the line of groomsmen. Derek's standing so rigid that Stiles is sure his knees are locked and he's going to pass out at any moment. Stiles can't really see Daisy or anyone else because he's staring at Derek's back like if he does it long enough maybe he'll wake up.

     He doesn't want to see Daisy standing at the alter looking beautiful while Derek stares at her with fucking hearts in his eyes. He really, really doesn't, and he honestly wishes that someone would just shoot him in the head because this is fucking torture of the worst kind.

     Such a fucking dumbass.

 

+

 

     Stiles bows out of the rehearsal dinner claiming a stomach ache and his dad takes the bait.

     On the way home, his dad stops at a stop sign and looks Stiles straight in the eye, "Either put up or shut up."

     Stiles is understandably baffled, "What?"

     His dad rolls his eyes so hard Stiles is worried they're going to fall out of the man's head, "You have less than twenty four hours to nut up, and if you don't Derek's going to marry that girl and have lots of children while you pine for the rest of your life."

     "What? No, I don't pine. I have never- I don't-" His dad's looking at him like he's the biggest idiot on planet Earth and Stiles can't help but agree. He feels trapped under his father's gaze, forced to look at everything he's been avoiding for months. He's stuck here with his own feelings and thoughts and he just wants to get the hell away. "What do you want me to do? What is your advice for me, Dad? Because, where I'm sitting now, I've lost my chance. He's getting married tomorrow to a beautiful girl whose only problem is being too nice! It's been ten years; I have liked Derek Hale for ten years, and now it's over. It has to be over." His voice breaks at the end and he hates it so much, hates that it gets him this worked up, hates that these emotions even exist in his mind, hates that he's never been able to let them out until now.

     His dad's small, " _Oh, son_ ," makes him even more angry and he has to scrub both hands in his hair and over his face.

     Stiles chokes back everything he can manage and pointedly doesn't look at his dad, "Can we go home please? I'm tired and tomorrow's the big day, so I'd like to get some sleep now."

     The sheriff waits a beat before pulling away from the stop sign and Stiles almost rips his seatbelt off in the meantime.

 

+

 

     He doesn't sleep, at all.

     He spends the night reciting solar systems and distant stars no one but scientists and space enthusiasts care about.

     He gets out of bed when his alarm goes off at eight and hears his dad doing the same down the hall. He stands in the middle of his bedroom just breathing until his dad knocks on his door and tells him he really needs to be getting ready. It's true. The wedding isn't until two, but they have pictures at noon and he's supposed to make sure all the groomsmen are ready and looking good since he's the best man. He has responsibilities and he is going to do them because he is a good friend.

     So, he goes downstairs and shoves some toast in his mouth and forces some on his dad. He takes a shower. He fixes his hair. He shaves. He puts on his tux, leaving the jacket, the waistcoat, and the tie off for the time being. He calls Derek to make sure he's up. He calls Scott to make sure he's making sure Derek's really up. He calls Jackson to make sure they're all getting dressed. He calls Boyd to make sure they're not all lying to him. And, he doesn't think about anything.

     This is just a normal day. Nothing big is happening. They're all just going to a really fancy party. With their families. And a big cake. And possibly a chocolate fountain.

 

+

 

     He calls Lydia.

     She rushes over in a blue, strapless dress and hands him water and a wet towel after he upchucks his toast in the toilet. They don't even say anything to each other, but she gets it. And, when he feels a little better, she gathers him up and ushers him past his dad, grabbing the missing pieces of his tux on their way out. His dad watches them leave in Lydia's car from the front porch, promising to meet them before the ceremony.

     When they pull up to the house, Lydia stops Stiles from unbuckling his seatbelt and looks him in the eye, "We're taking a vacation. After all of this, you and me and whoever the hell else are going on a lengthy, sun and margarita and abdominal muscle filled vacation."

     Stiles laughs at her, loud and hard. She follows his example and soon they're getting stares from the random family members and wedding staff moseying past the car. He relishes in this, rolls around in the combined sound of their laughter. It pulls something from him, something that was buried months ago, and he feels lighter. Until a human body slams into Stiles' side of the car.

     "Jesus, fuck!" He yelps as Scott's head pops up to stare him straight in the eye.

     Stiles' door is ripped open before he can react, and he's being manhandle out of his seatbelt, "Dude, I have no idea what happened, but Derek kicked everyone out like twenty minutes ago. And, he won't talk to anyone, and pictures are in thirty minutes, and you have to fix whatever it is."

     " _What_?" He squeaks as Scott shoves him toward the house.

     He's rushed up the stairs which are littered with bridesmaids and family members and groomsmen. Talia and Laura are standing outside the door that Stiles guesses Derek's held up in, trying to talk their way in. All it takes is Scott yelling, "I've got Stiles," for the door to be wretched open and Stiles yanked into the room.

     It's a wreck, with clothing and books and pieces of paper thrown everywhere. Derek still has ahold of the front of his shirt and the man looks ten times worse than the room does with sunken eyes and flushed skin. He hasn't shaved or put on any more of his tux than Stiles has, and this will not do, "Alright, man. I don't know what's happening, but we have got to get you ready."

     Derek's eyes go wide and he looks like he's about to take Stiles hostage and try to break out of the house. Stiles raises his hands slowly, puts them lightly on Derek's chest and, ignoring the lump in his throat, gently pushes until Derek lets go of him. Derek looks at his own hands like he's never seen them before and starts pacing the room.

     "Derek," Stiles says quietly. "Talk to me, man."

     Derek shakes his head, starts raking his hands through his hair, "Stiles, this isn't-"

     Stiles waits for him to continue before prompting a little, "Isn't?"

     Derek stops, turns his eyes to meet Stiles' and he looks like he's trying to communicate telepathically until he gives up and deadpans, "If I don't get married, we lose the company."

     Um, okay, "What?" Stiles asks because surely he didn't hear that right.

     Derek looks frustrated. He squeezes his hands into fists a few times, "When my parents allowed their company to go public and the board was chosen, there was a contract drawn up for when my parents eventually retired. In that contract it states that their children can only take over if they are married before twenty six. Since Laura got a divorce, it falls to me."

     Oh, _oh_. " _What_?" Stiles is furious, "And your parents agreed to this?"

     "They had no choice!" Derek doesn't look like he believes that, and Stiles certainly doesn't.

     "No. Bullshit. Derek, you can't get married just because some fucking contract says you have to!" Stiles can't believe this. Did no one else think this contract was bullshit? Did no one else protest it on Derek's behalf? Does no one else see what Stiles sees?

     "I have to, Stiles! If I don't it falls to Cora, and Cora doesn't want anything to do with the company. She gave away half of her trust fund! Just gave it up! Cora's too good for me to force her into a leadership position within the company when I can easily prevent-"

     "Yeah, by entering into a marriage with someone who never even wanted to get married? _That_ 's not going to backfire on you, ever!" Stiles almost regrets that. The look on Derek's face says that Daisy never told him. He looks betrayed and a little broken, and it just adds fuel to the fire. "Yeah, she didn't fucking tell you, did she, Hale? She told me that she never wanted to get married, to anyone, ever! But, she loved you, so she was going to give it a shot."

     Derek doesn't move. He's staring at the floor with his mouth open, and Stiles can't fucking take it.

     "I've watched you go through so much shit, Derek. So much crap, and now I feel like I'm watching it happen again! I'm watching you drown and I can't stop it. What am I supposed to do, Derek? What the fuck am I supposed to do?" It's a plea, not for Derek, for the universe. Because, Stiles seriously doesn't know. How is he supposed to sit and watch his friend go through with this marriage when it's all built on lies and half-truths?

     And then Derek is just there, up in his space, crowding him against the door, and he is _so close_. Stiles can see his pores, where his eyelashes meet his eyelids, where his stubble thins out against his cheeks, how blown his pupils are. Stiles' skin is on fire; he can't breathe with Derek this close, looking at Stiles with a blaze in his eye. He opens his mouth to ask what the hell is going on when Derek surges forward. His lips shoved against Stiles' with a level of urgency and need and want and Stiles just opens himself up.

     Derek slides his lips against Stiles', pushing his tongue in and licking against Stiles' teeth. Derek's body is flush against his and they're in a heated game of push and pull. Licking, sucking, and biting until Stiles' lips ache. Hands are everywhere, touching every open piece of skin they can reach. The noises they're both making are so loud that Stiles is sure they can be heard outside the door.  Stiles' brain feels like it's disconnected from his body. This is it, everything he has been thinking about and wanting for ten years: Derek's hands on his neck and under his shirt, Derek's abs quivering under his touch, Derek's breath mingling with his, _just Derek_.

     And, it's wrong.

     Stiles yanks himself away, forces himself to breathe and push Derek back.

     "No," He says, strangles out because it is so wrong. He can't do this. He can't break up a marriage before it even gets a chance to start. This is not how it was supposed to happen. "We can't. Derek, your fiancé is probably here already."

     Derek looks crazed, scared, confused. He keeps trying to move back toward Stiles, but stops himself each time, "But, you just said-"

     "I know. Jesus, but we can't- we can't do that to-" Derek surges forward again, pushes back against Stiles. And, Stiles wants to let it happen, he wants to so bad. But, he can't, so he shoves Derek away before he can put his lips back to use with a whine, "Derek, why? Why so long?"

     Derek holds himself close, doesn't move his forehead from Stiles', keeps his hands hanging in between them, and Stiles wants them back on him so fucking bad. Their breath lingers hot between them, and Stiles almost breaks when Derek's tongue slips out to sooth his own raw lips, "I don't know. I didn't think, I just didn't-"

     "So, you choose now? Right now? Not last night or last month or last year?" This is so fucked up. Stiles can hear people moving around outside the door, talking loudly. He wonders if they missed the photographer.

     "I don't know. I don't- I'm so sorry," Derek tries to grab him again, but Stiles can't do it.

     He shoves Derek away, shoves him a few more times for good measure and says, "The photographer is probably here, so get fucking dressed and meet us all outside," and he leaves. He runs out the door and ignores everyone until he gets to a bathroom. He throws Erica and Cora out, and then proceeds to throw up stomach acid.

 

+

 

     It's Laura that breaks in.

     He can hear more people at the door, Scott, Jackson, Lydia, but he's glad that it was Laura that makes her way in. He doesn't say anything, just leans into her, buries himself in her smell as he cries like a big fucking baby. She's so warm, and radiates so much love, that he wants to curl up into her and live in that feeling forever. After a few choked sobs he notices that she's crying, too, and that makes him cry more.

     "I hate him so much," He grits out.

     It's a lie, a big fucking giant lie, and she calls him out on it, "You can't, though, can you?"

     Stiles sobs some more because she's right.

 

+

 

     They make the photographer wait an extra thirty minutes and when Stiles and Laura leave the bathroom, they look like nothing ever happened.

     Lydia brought Stiles the rest of his outfit, and Laura helped him get dressed while he schooled his face into something that resembled happiness. He doesn't let anything show on his face when he exits the house to gather with the other groomsmen on the lawn. He smiles when Scott gives him a weird look, he avoids Derek's gaze entirely, and, he laughs at Danny's jokes. As far as anyone knows, Stiles is ecstatic that his friend is getting married.

     So, naturally, on his way inside to retrieve the rings, he runs into Daisy who looks as frantic as Stiles feels. She's all made up in an elegant, lace dress with her hair pinned back strategically to frame her face. She looks like a friggin' model. She has to gather up her train to yank him into a nearby broom closet and he groans because this is his life.

     "This is all fucking insane," she whisper-screeches in his ear.

     "You planned it, crazy," He replies because he has had it with today, and it is high time someone be truthful.

     "I know!" She snaps, "But, I don't know if-"

     "No!" He cuts her off immediately, "No, you are not going to come this far and bow out now! You've had all this time to stop this and you haven't done a damn thing. So, now you get to live with it. I will see you under the willow where you and my best friend will be getting married."

     And, he leaves her in the closet.

 

+

 

     They walk up the aisle, him and Gabbi, straight toward Derek, who is staring at the floor, with their faces adorned with grins. They're followed by Felicia and Isaac, then Kelly and Boyd, then Laura and Isaac, Cora and Jackson, and last Lydia and Danny. Stiles takes his place behind Derek like he's supposed to and pretends he's somewhere else. He thinks about Lydia's vacation plans and decides that it is exactly what he needs. Some sun and sand and a lot of alcohol sounds like just the thing.

     Stiles feels like crying again.

     Everyone's eyes snap up when that stupid bride walk song comes on and Daisy steps outside with her mom on her arm, carrying a bouquet of small blue and white roses. Everyone's ooh'ing and aah'ing and whispering about how pretty she looks, and Derek doesn't look up until she's almost at the altar. Daisy looks terrified, but she's painted on a thousand watt impersonation of a smile and she keeps shifting her gaze from Derek to Stiles to the preserve surrounding the yard. She looks like she may be thinking about bolting.

     A part of Stiles hopes she does.

     She makes it up to Derek, who's stepped forward to accept her from her mother, and the two share a quick look before Derek leads her in front of the pastor who starts the ceremony. Stiles can see Daisy's face over Derek's shoulder, and she keeps glancing at him. She doesn't look happy. The pastor asks Derek to repeat after him, and Derek sounds like a goddamn robot.

     Something in Stiles' chest tightens; this isn't right. They're both being forced into this marriage like twelve year old royalty in the 1700s, and no one is stopping it. Surely Daisy's friends and mother know how she feels about marriage. They can see how scared she looks right now, can't they? And, Stiles can feel the anxiety radiating off of Derek's tight shoulders. Why can't anyone else see it? Why is no one stopping this?

     Stiles didn't even know his body had moved until everything went quiet and he found himself standing in front of Daisy, Derek, and the pastor. He hears his dad call to him, but he doesn't answer, instead he says, "You don't have to do this."

     There's a collective gasp that radiates through the guests. Scott moves forward and takes hold of Stiles arm, "Dude, what are you doing?"

     Stiles shakes him off and looks both Derek and Daisy in the eye, "You don't have to do this."

     They're staring back at him, Daisy looking like she's going to start crying and Derek looking lost. Around them, everyone's whispering. Stiles can hear people asking what's going on, who is this kid. It doesn't matter, he has to do this. He can't stand back and let this happen. They don't get it, so Stiles says it again more forcibly, " _You don't have to do this_." His dad calls to him again, louder, but it doesn't matter because this is right. This has to be done, "You have a choice."

     No one moves, and Stiles starts thinking that this may have been a huge mistake. What is he doing, stopping a wedding like this? It doesn't matter how much Derek means to him, this is low. But, then Daisy turns and takes a step toward Derek.

     "Derek," She says, voice cracking and tears beginning to make their way down her cheeks, ruining her make up. "I am so sorry. I never wanted to get married, but I couldn't tell you no. I just- I couldn't. And, when you told me about the company, there wasn't any way I was going to make you lose it."

     Derek's staring at her like he doesn't know what to do, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, but he nods slowly. Daisy moves forward and gently kisses his cheek. She turns back toward Stiles and steps forward to wrap her arms around him. "Thank you," she whispers before letting him go and walking back down the aisle followed by her very confused friends. She collects her mother, who is screeching her outrage toward the turn of events, and informs the rest of her guests that the wedding is called off, sorry for the inconvenience.

     The rest of the guests erupt in loud cries of confusion and accusations, Stiles can't take his eyes off of Derek who's staring back at him with a look of awe. Stiles is about to say 'fuck it' and kiss him when Peter Hale's voice booms over everyone else's, "So, giving up everything your parents worked for because of a silly thing like love."

     And, that is enough. Stiles flips around and points a finger at Peter and then at Talia, "I can't believe you did this. You forced your children to get married on a timeline or they lose everything? What the fuck is up with that?"

     "Stiles!" The sheriff chastises, but Talia raises her hand to stop him.

     She stands and regards Stiles with a look that brings him back to his childhood when he used to sneak Fruit Roll-ups upstairs, "We had no choice. At that point we were bound by law. We had to agree. We've been looking for a loophole ever since, but we stopped when we found out Derek was going to propose."

     "If we had known that he wasn't doing it because he wanted to, we would have said something," Edward says, standing next to his wife.

 

     That's not good enough; Stiles is still beyond angry and he's about to let them know it when he hears Derek call his name. He flips around again and instantly can't breathe. Derek is staring at him with two wedding bands sitting in his open palm. The same matching wedding bands that they had looked at before.

     Derek swallows, "I bought them. I don't know why, I just had to."

     "You just had to," Stiles nods because yeah, that makes sense. Just had to. Just had to buy the wedding bands Stiles was looking at. The wedding band that Stiles specifically told Derek he saw him wearing and the one that matches it. That's totally normal. Stiles looks from Derek to the pastor who's been watching everything pan out with a slight level of amusement evident on his face, "If we were to go to the courthouse today, how quickly could we get a marriage license?"

     A few people gasp, some whisper their bewilderment, Cora laughs.

     The pastor smiles at him then at Derek, who hasn't taken his eyes off of Stiles, "The courthouse closes at five today. If you get there before then, I can push your license through."

     "Right," Stiles says, stripping off his awful tux jacket and yanking his tie off. "Let's go."

     Scott grabs him again, stopping him from walking up to the altar, "What are you doing?"

     "I'm getting hitched," Stiles grins at him, pulling away and stepping in front of Derek. "Hi."

     Derek smiles at him, the first smile Stiles has seen all day and Stiles' heart fucking flips in his chest, "Hey."

     "Wait!" Stiles turns to see Erica making her way up to them. "If you two idiots are getting married, I'm being a flipping bridesmaid, groomswoman, person." She shoves Danny out of the way saying that he was technically Stiles' friend so he belongs on the other side. That prompts Cora and Laura to move to Derek's side and Jackson to follow Danny. Scott beams at Stiles before taking his place directly behind his friend with a clap to Stiles' shoulder. Derek hasn't taken his eyes off Stiles yet, and is still smiling like it's the best day ever.

     It absolutely is.

     "I'm willing to bet that no one cares to hear the entire wedding speech, so Derek, do you take," The pastor looks toward Stiles waiting for an answer.

     "Stiles," He offers.

     The pastor raises a brow at that, but shrugs and continues, "Stiles, as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?"

     Derek nods, eyes still locked on Stiles', "Yes, I do."

     The pastor starts to say Stiles' end of the vows, but Stiles is impatient so he interrupts, "Absolutely. All of that, yes."

     There's quiet laughter coming from everyone but Stiles' dad who seems to be either praying or questioning his parenting skills, but the pastor just rolls with it, "Derek, take Stiles' hand and place the ring on his finger."

     Derek's hands are shaking as he grabs Stiles', slipping the ring onto his ring finger. It's warm against Stiles' skin and feels a bit awkward rubbing against where his finger meets his hand. Derek repeats whatever it is the pastor is saying, but Stiles can't follow it.

     "Stiles?"

     "What? Sorry." Derek laughs at him, as does the pastor and pretty much everyone else.

     "It's your turn to put on Derek's ring," Stiles likes this pastor.

     "Right, yeah," Stiles smiles sheepishly at Derek, who's about to be his husband, forever. He takes the other ring from Derek's palm and slides it onto Derek's finger. He repeats whatever religious crap he's supposed to, and nearly leaps at Derek when the pastor says, "You may now kiss your husband."

     Derek doesn't jump at Stiles, but he grabs the front of the Stiles' waistcoat and yanks Stiles to him. The kiss starts out chaste, completely church appropriate, but quickly gets heated when Stiles grabs Derek back and opens Derek's mouth with his tongue. There are catcalls and whistles, but it's all background noise as Derek yanks away from Stiles only to grab his hand and run down the aisle. They make it inside the house, and Stiles pulls them to a stop once he's sure there aren't any windows they can be seen through. They slam back into each other, mouths working together fiercely. It's hot and good and everything Stiles has imagined kissing Derek would be over the years. Derek's tongue is slick against his, and then the man's moving down to nip Stiles' jawline, and Stiles' hands are scratching at Derek's back and there are too many clothes in this equation. Apparently Derek thinks so, too, because he starts clawing at Stiles' waistcoat. Stiles groans and leans into Derek's mouth where it's doing amazing things to his neck.

     "Derek," He breathes. Derek's managed to get his waistcoat and shirt open and he's working on making a trail down Stiles' upper body. Stiles slides a hand up to tangle his fingers in Derek's hair and tugs slightly to get his attention, "We're in the hallway."

     Derek makes an annoyed noise and grabs Stiles' hand again to yank him through the house, up the stairs, and back to the room he was held up in before. Stiles uses the new location to his advantage and flips them around to slam Derek against the door. He attacks Derek's mouth, eliciting the most wonderful of noises and wallowing in them. He nips at Derek's lip which causes Derek's hips to lift off the door in an attempt to find friction. Stiles relents and kicks at Derek's legs until he opens them wide enough for Stiles to fit his thigh between them.

     Stiles has never found dry humping to feel that good, but Derek's thigh is just soft enough and he's running his hands up Stiles' chest to rub Stiles' nipples and it is awesome. Stiles moans around Derek's tongue, mouthing down to his still stubble covered jaw and Stiles' dick is straining against the fabric of his pants. He whines into the underside of Derek's jaw and rocks harder against Derek who returns the motion vehemently. It's not enough, so Stiles pulls away just enough to quickly thumb Derek's waistcoat open. It gets tossed somewhere as Derek rips off Stiles top layers, dropping them to the floor and licking up Stiles bare throat.

     Stiles gives up on not destroying Derek's shirt because it is not fair that Derek's touching his skin when he's not touching Derek's, so he grabs the collar of the shirt and yanks it open. Derek makes a hungry noise, and bites down on Stiles' collar bone which causes Stiles to gasp and forget about Derek's shirt long enough for Derek to slide his hand down and force Stiles belt open and off. He plays with the top of Stiles' pants, sucking on the bitten skin of Stiles' collar bone, until Stiles whimpers and angles his hips to rub his cloth covered cock against Derek's wrist.

     Derek growls and wrenches Stiles' pants open, shoving his hand down the front of Stiles' underwear to palm his dick. Stiles lets his head fall forward onto Derek's shoulder as Derek sets a quick pace, squeezing just enough and twisting his hand around the head of Stiles' cock. It's rough and dry, and makes Stiles whimper some more. Derek's mouthing up his neck, leaving swollen skin and bite marks in his wake. When he makes it back up to Stiles' mouth, Stiles grabs Derek's bottom lip in between his teeth and uses Derek's distraction to shove Derek's shoulder against the door forcing the man to let go of his dick.

     Stiles drops to his knees and grins up at Derek's hooded expression before quickly undoing his belt and pants, rubbing his nose against the outline of Derek's hard cock. Stiles has to reach down and stroke himself when Derek's dick falls out of his pants without the constriction of underwear. It's a beautiful sight to behold, Derek's dick. It's thick and veiny with foreskin stretched over the ridge of its head. Stiles groans before licking a hot stripe up the underside of it and swallowing it whole. Derek makes a choked noise and grabs for the back of Stiles' head as Stiles works him over, fast and sloppy.

     Spit is slipping out of the corners of Stiles' mouth as he licks and sucks Derek down, hallowing his cheeks and constricting his throat. He's got a hand wrapped around himself and he has to keep squeezing the base to keep himself from coming just from the taste and weight and smell of Derek's cock. Derek's got one hand gripping Stiles' hair and the other cupping his cheek, rubbing a thumb at the corner of Stiles' mouth where Derek's dick is stretching it open. His hips keep stuttering forward slightly, but he keeps stopping himself from letting go. That won't do. Stiles runs the hand not holding onto his own cock up the back of Derek's thigh to squeeze his ass. He shoves, forcing Derek's cock deep down his throat where he moans around it.

     That's all it takes; Derek grips Stiles' skull with both hand and shoves his dick down Stiles' throat over and over again. He lets up periodically for a few seconds to give Stiles a chance to breathe, but Stiles doesn't really need it. He holds onto Derek's ass for the ride and takes everything Derek's giving him. He gives in and starts jerking himself off quickly until he can feel his orgasm coiling tight in his belly.

     Derek stutters out Stiles' name and tightens his hold on Stiles' head as he comes. It prompts Stiles' own orgasm to crash into him full force and leaves him moaning and drinking down Derek until there's nothing left. Stiles pulls away, sitting back on his haunches and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. When he looks up at Derek- _his husband, Derek_ \- the man is staring at him with a look of wonderment, his chest rising and falling quickly and his hands caressing Stiles' head. Derek slides down the door until he's on his knees in front of Stiles. His mouth is red and bruised, his skin sweaty and flushed and he looks beautiful.

     Derek leans forward and gently presses his lips to Stiles'. It's a languid, gentle kiss and Stiles sighs into it, closing his eyes and melting his body into Derek who wraps his arms around Stiles to hold the man up. Derek lets out a small breath, kissing his way from Stiles' lips to his jaw.

     "If you two are done, your cocktail hour is half over and the pastor said he'd meet you at the courthouse. If you don't want to have to tell him Stiles' real name over the phone, I suggest you get dressed and head out."

     Stiles jumps at Lydia's voice coming through the door and pulls away from Derek to give him a horrified look. Could they fucking hear them through the door?

     "We didn't hear anything, dude. Not a lot anyway," And, Scott is a mind reader.

     "We'll be right out," Derek supplies, grinning at Stiles.

 

+

 

     They should have known this was coming.

     After getting dressed, Derek in one of the extra shirts that Daisy had insisted on ordering just in case and Stiles in his original shirt since it didn't get too damaged, they expected their friends to fill into the room. Instead, their parents walked calmly in when they yelled the all clear.

     None of them are smiling or looking happy at all and it is freaking Stiles the hell out and he opens his mouth to start filling the void when Derek beats him to it.

     "I fucked up, and I will not apologize for it," Stiles stares at Derek wide eyed because 1.they just had sex and look like it in front of their parents after getting surprise married, 2. Derek just cursed in front of Talia, and not a little curse, and 3. this is the man he married.

     Talia starts laughing and Edward and Stiles' dad soon follow. Talia moves forward and takes Derek's bewildered face in her hands, "Oh, sweetheart. It would have been a mistake to marry Daisy. She's a nice girl, but she was not the one for you."

     That makes Stiles' heart do something funny. Looking at the way Talia is smiling at Derek makes him remember the hole in his chest, and he has to look away.

     "And, you," Talia says, moving to stand in front of Stiles. She takes his face in her hands just like she did with Derek and makes him look her in the eye. "I thought I was going to get into a fight and get arrested on my son's wedding day when you pulled that little stunt. Daisy's mother looks like a scrapper."

     That makes a laugh erupt from Stiles' chest in place of the tears he had felt coming on. Talia leans forward and places a kiss to his forehead.

     "Guys, if you don't leave now, you could have to wait to actually get married until tomorrow," Stiles' dad says, moving beside Talia to smile at Stiles.

     "Shit," Stiles says, wrapping his dad in a quick hug.

     "We'll talk when you get back," He says, giving Stiles a look that says they very well will talk when he and Derek get back.

     Stiles agrees and accepts a pat on the shoulder and a fond smile from Edward before he grabs Derek's hand and pulls him out the door. They pass a couple of people on their way out of the house, mostly Derek's colleagues, but they are able to accept congratulations on the move and make it to Derek's car quickly. Derek tosses Stiles the keys and grins when Stiles rolls his eyes before getting in.

     They don't speak for five whole minutes, and Stiles is dying. Finally, he says, "So, I've been thinking."

     Derek groans loudly and doesn't look up from where he's typing away on his phone.

     "Shut up. Anyway, do I- like, is it required that I take your name?"

     Derek looks up at that, all confused brow and concerned eyes, "You don't want to be a Hale?"

     Stiles swallows and keeps his eyes on the road, "That's not it, I just, um, I'm kind of partial to mine?"

     He sees Derek put down his phone from the corner of his eye, can see the hurt on his face, "You don't have to change it if you don't want to. That's a big change, and I get it if you'd prefer to keep it as it is."

     Stiles rolls his eyes, "Dude, I was thinking more of a hyphen type deal."

     Derek visibly relaxes and goes back to his phone, "Yeah that works."

     Stiles reaches out and quickly snatches the phone from Derek's hand, shoving it under his thigh when the man goes to grab it back, "I was thinking that maybe we could both do it."

     Derek pulls his hand back from where he was trying to retrieve his phone without causing them to wreck and raises an eyebrow at the side of Stiles' head, "Both do it?"

     "Yeah, I mean Laura changed her name when she got married and that didn't break the contract, so I figure you could do it, too. And, I don't want you to be Mr. Hale and me be Mr. Stilinski-Hale," Stiles shrugs, turning to head downtown.

     Derek's quiet for a while, watching as Stiles drives. Stiles is worried he'll say no, but then he nods, "Okay."

     Stiles chances a grin at him, "Yeah?"

     Derek smiles back, "Yeah, now can I have my phone back please. I was doing something important."

     "Important, huh?" Stiles questions, turning into the parking lot of the courthouse and throwing the car into park. He fishes Derek's phone from under his thigh, "What's so important that you-" Derek grabs it before he can get a good look, but he thinks he saw an airplane website. "Oh my god, are you booking our honeymoon?"

     "No!" Derek denies, cradling the phone to his chest like maybe Stiles can see through it to his web browser. "It was already booked. I'm changing the reservation names."

     Stiles grins at him and unclips his seatbelt to reach over and try to take the phone again, "Where are we going, huh? Is it sunny? Is it a beach?"

     Derek flails as far away from him as he can get, and actually turns to try and put his knees between him and Stiles, "Maybe. Is that where you want to go?"

     Stiles pulls back and thinks about it, "Beaches are nice. Lydia mentioned margaritas and sunshine and abs earlier, so I'm down with all of that. Although-" he doesn't finish. He doesn't want Derek to think he's ungrateful for the honeymoon Derek already has planned, but that was probably _Daisy's_ dream honeymoon, not Stiles'.

     Derek looks at him expectantly, "Although, what? Is there somewhere else you want to go?"

     Stiles shakes his head, "No, no. That's okay. The beach is cool. It'll be fun. You already have everything planned and time taken off work, and shit. I have to call my boss and my professors."

     Derek gives Stiles a small smile that makes Stiles' heart feel too big and says, "Stiles, I'm the boss. I can take as much time off as I want, especially for my honeymoon with my new husband. And, trust me, we can go _anywhere_ you want."

     Stiles' breath hitches at the word _husband_. They haven't said that out loud, yet, and Stiles really likes it.

     "Yeah?" He asks, watching Derek's eyes as the man continues smiling at him.

     "Yes. Where do you want to go?" Derek's grins grows as Stiles thinks about it.

     Anywhere in the world. The world is literally theirs.

     "Ireland," Stiles decides.

     "Ireland?"

     "Yeah, Ireland."

     Derek unclips his seatbelt and nods toward the building in front of them, "Let's go get officially hitched and then I'll book two flights for Ireland. And, we'll call your boss and send your professors an email later. Ten bucks says Julie takes over your shifts, and your professors only notice you're not in class because it's quiet."

     Stiles laughs as he gets out and stops Derek at the steps of the building to kiss him. Just because he can.

 

+

 

     They leave the courthouse twenty minutes later with a certificate declaring them Mr. and Mr. Stilinski-Hale.

     They end up making out in front of Derek's car until an old lady passes by and harrumphs at them. Derek spends the rest of the drive on his phone again, but Stiles doesn't mind so much this time.

     When they pull up at the Hale house, Scott's waiting for them on the front steps, and Stiles has to get himself ready for this conversation because it may be a doosey.

     "Dudes!" Scott grins at them, standing and opening his arms wide to engulf them both in a hug. "It's official, huh?"

     Derek shows him the certificate and then excuses himself to put it up inside. When the door closes behind him, Stiles takes that moment to freak out, "Dude!"

     Scott beams at him, "Dude!"

     "What even happened today?"

     "You got fucking married to the guy you've been in love with since you were like twelve!" Scott supplies, and Stiles stops flailing. "Dude?"

     "Love?" Stiles asks. He hadn't thought about that. He'd just married Derek and he still didn't know if Derek loved him like he loved Derek. He'd been in love with Derek for a long time, but that was when it was all in his head. Now, it's out there. They're fucking married. They're going to move in together and share a bathroom and have a lot of sex and sleep next to each other and wake up to morning breath and morning wood and have breakfast _and_ dinner together every day and-

     "Stiles!"

     "What?"

     "You alright there, buddy?" Scott looks concerned and his hand is resting on Stiles' shoulder even though Stiles can't remember him putting it there.

     Stiles starts to answer when the front door opens and Derek walks out. Stiles' throat constricts and he can hear Scott calling his name, but he doesn't know what to say. Instead, he takes a step toward Derek who's started coming down the steps looking worried, "Do you love me?"

     Derek stops in his tracks. He only hesitates for a second before he says, "Of course I do, Stiles," like it's the most obvious thing in the universe, and Stiles instantly relaxes. "Did you think I would have bought those rings if I didn't?" Derek continues.

     Stiles swallows, feeling the waves of uncertainty filling up his mind, "Yeah, but you were going to m-"

     "I never loved Daisy like I love you," Derek cuts Stiles off, his face hard and his eyes cutting. He moves down the last few steps to stop in front of Stiles, holding out his hands like a peace offering, "I have been in love with you for a very long time, Stiles Stilinski. And, nobody else has ever meant as much to me as you do. You're stubborn and annoying and a complete idiot, and sometimes I want to take your computer and throw it out the window just to shut you up, but I would do anything you asked me to. I would give you the moon, Stiles. I would find a way to literally buy the moon if you asked me to and then I'd hire someone to build you a working Millennium Falcon to fly you into space."

     Stiles can't take his eyes off of Derek's as he speaks. He feels it, in his chest. Derek's not lying; he is telling the truth, and Stiles feels like he's always known it. It was stupid to question if Derek loved him or not, now that he thinks about how many dates Derek's blown off to hang out with Stiles in the back of Cold Stone, how many times Stiles has called Derek in the middle of the night to ask an English question because Derek can _write_ a goddamn paper, how many times Derek has sent Stiles pictures of the stupid shit he finds at the off brand grocery store near his office. Of course Derek loves him. Why did he ever doubt it?

     Derek's still talking, about how he used to wish Stiles were a girl before he found out that sexuality is fluid and how he used to sneak into Stiles' room sometimes just to make sure he was okay, but Stiles leans forward and cuts him off midsentence. Stiles pours himself into the kiss, lets it speak for him because just this once, he doesn't know what to say.

     "Oh, for the love of god. Some people are hungry, you know?"

     They pull away to see Lydia judging them at the corner of the house.

     Scott snickers and says, "I was trying to tell them that everyone was waiting on them to eat."

     Lydia gives him a look that says she doesn't believe him at all and says to Stiles and Derek, "Everyone's waiting on you to eat and I'm starving, so hurry up."

     She turns and leaves, Scott following after her, and Derek starts laughing. It's a beautiful sight, so Stiles laughs along with him.

 

+

 

     They make a grand entrance into the reception tent.

     Well, kind of. Stiles flings open the slit in the side of the tent, sauntering in as Derek follows while the DJ introduces them as Mr. and Mr. Stilinski-Hale. That's met partially with confusion and partially with acceptance, like they should have known it was going to happen that way. The inside of the tent is lit up with more tiny lights. There's a large dance floor set up in the middle with tables surrounding it. Each table has it's own large blue and white centerpiece, except one small table situated toward the front of the tent off to the left a little; the sweetheart table. Coming from the center of the ceiling and trailing down the walls are panels of soft blue and white fabric, giving the entire space a calm tone.

     And sitting off to the side is the chocolate fountain, which Stiles points out to Derek with a huge grin and a promise of many chocolate covered foods later.

     Everyone's on their feet, clapping and cheering for them as Stiles and Derek move through the crowd to get to their table. A waiter in a blue and black uniform stops them and hands Stiles a microphone. "It'd be nice if you gave a small speech since you two were so late," she says with a grin. Stiles glances at Derek and sighs when he gets a look saying 'that's all you' in return. Stiles drags him to the center of the dance floor anyway.

     A hush falls over the crowd as they step into the light, and Stiles immediately seeks out his father, who is sitting next to a grinning Melissa at one of the front tables. She's wearing the dress that she usually reserves for a date, but her hair is still tied back in a tight pony tail on her head which means she probably rushed home right after her shift to get changed. Stiles is glad she's here.

     Feeling calmer after his dad smirks at him, Stiles makes sure the microphone is turned on and says, "I'm sorry we made you guys wait, and I'm sorry about the, um, unexpected turn of events that the day took." That's met with laughter and Derek squeezes Stiles hand. Stiles glances back at him before continuing, "But, we wouldn't have had it any other way. So, uh, thanks for waiting, and let's eat?"

     Derek grins at him and pulls him into a small kiss, which is met with catcalls. Again. They ignore them and return to their small table. The reception continues on like the ones on My Fair Wedding do: they're served chicken and steak by a flurry of frantic waiters and waitresses, then they're served alcohol which Stiles downs with a grin, and then it's time for cake. The cake is huge, and very blue, but it's made of chocolate with raspberry filling and it's delicious. Stiles shoves more than one piece in Derek's face and Derek retaliates tenfold, shoving some down Stiles' pants. Stiles' retort of, "It's okay, you'll be cleaning that up later," is met with groans of disgust. They do the dumb champagne arm crossing thing, and Stiles spits his champagne out because that shit is nasty.

     It's not until they return to their table and Scott follows them with a twinkle in his eye that Stiles remembers there's a thing called toasts and apparently it's time for them. The smile Scott gives him as he raises the microphone to his face makes Stiles scared.

     "After Stiles and Derek left to get actually married at the courthouse, I went into their room, which was _disaster_ , and found his notecards for what was supposed to be his best man speech," Stiles drops his head to the table because that thing was not his best work. Scott laughs at him before continuing, "And, you will be happy to know, Derek, that he only referenced Batman once. The same cannot be said for Han Solo." Derek sounds like he's hyperventilating next to Stiles, who punches the asshole in the arm without looking up. "The rest was actually pretty good. He talked about how long you two have known each other, which is most of our lives. He talked about what a great person you are, and how anyone you marry would be taken care of for the rest of their lives, and he was right. Or, at least he better be, because seriously, I think Cora will kill you if you damage the only person in our group able to play Cho'Gath correctly." Cora calls out a, "Damn right!" as the rest of the crowd laughs. Stiles chances a glance up at Derek, who's smiling down at him. He smiles back and reaches his hand over to rest on Derek's thigh, lifting his head to look the man in the eye. "I love you guys, and you better buy me a present from wherever you're going on your honeymoon."

     Stiles jumps up and wraps Scott in a bear hug after they raise their drinks in a toast, "I love you, man."

     "I love you, too," Scott laughs. "And, I'm serious. I want the most hideous shirt you can find."

     "Done," Stiles agrees, pulling back as Laura makes her way up to them.

     She gives Stiles a devious grin when she takes the microphone from Scott. Stiles returns to Derek's side, where the man's staring up at the roof of the tent like he's trying to summon something to come fly him away.

     "Let me tell you a few things about the kid called Stiles. See, there are very few people who know Stiles' real name, and even fewer that can actually spell it. I am one of both categories," Stiles stares at her wide eyed as her grin grows. "But, I prefer to keep that little secret to myself." Stiles sighs back into his seat. That was mean, and Derek's laughing beside him. He glares at his husband as his new sister-in-law continues, and, huh. He's now legally a Hale, would you look at that. "This kid used to be the worst, okay? Derek and Cora were loud and annoying, sure, but Stiles was a whole other category. Cora was convinced that he was an alien sent to Earth to see how far he could push human kind before they gave up and just killed him." Stiles gives Cora, who is about to fall out of her chair laughing, a hurt look. "Maybe he is an alien, but he's a pretty great alien. And, I know Derek thinks so. Plus, now we have someone to help guilt Derek into more family dinners." Derek groans next to Stiles and Stiles grins at him. Yes, all of the family dinners with all of the family, if only to force Cora to make strawberry shortcake for desert. "I love you both, and I am so happy that Stiles is my new brother-in-law. To these two idiots!" Laura smiles, raising her glass, and everyone follows.  She walks toward their table and Derek stands to meet her half way in a hug. They whisper a few things to each other before pulling away with smiles.

     When Derek sits down, Stiles asks what she said, lifting his drink to his lips. Derek shrugs, "Not to let you get ahold of my credit cards and be sure to use lube."

     Stiles chokes on his drink; Derek grins at him.

     The DJ calls for their first dance, and Stiles laughs his way to the dance floor when the song Adam Sandler sings to Drew Barrymore on the plane in The Wedding Singer starts playing. Derek rolls his eyes and mutters something about meddling sisters and friends and pulls Stiles to him with a little more force than necessary. Stiles calms down, taking hold of Derek's waist with one hand and the hand Derek's holding up with the other. He's never danced like this with anyone before, and apparently neither has Derek because they keep stepping on each other's feet. Stiles can't stop laughing because this is stupid. He's always thought this part of movies and TV shows was ridiculous. The way the characters always gaze into each other's eyes while dancing perfectly, the man sweeping the woman around the room all grace and poise.

     That's anything but him and Derek.

     So, he makes a game of it, pushing against Derek's automatic need to lead and control the dance. He throws his weight around, forces Derek to take steps where he shouldn't. Derek fights against it and at one point actually growls his discomfort with what Stiles is doing. When the song ends, Stiles throws his arms up as everyone laughs and claps at them. Talia steps forward from the crowd and extends her hand to her son who gives Stiles 'help me' eyes as he takes it. Stiles shrugs and makes his way to his dad and Melissa as Derek glares at him.

     He pulls Melissa up in to a hug when he gets close enough, sighs into her as she squeezes him. She pulls back and grins at him, patting his shoulders before motioning for him to sit beside his dad.

     "I'm so glad you're here," he tells her.

     She gives him a soft look, "There is no way that I would have missed it. Although, I hear that I did miss a pretty eventful ceremony."

     The sheriff snorts next to him and Stiles twists his mouth up in a taunting look. His dad ignores him and says, "Well, it wasn't planned that's for sure."

     Melissa pats the sheriff on the arm and makes to leave, "I'm going to go get another drink. I'll see you later, Stiles."

     Stiles waves his goodbye before turning to his dad who's looking at him with raised eyebrows and a smirk. _Shit._

     "When I said you needed to nut up, I meant before the ceremony, not in the middle," the old man says.

     Stiles rolls his eyes, "Because I did that on purpose. I'll have you know that Derek kissed me before the wedding, but I told him that it wasn't right to do Daisy that way."

     "Is that so?"

     "Yeah," Stiles grabs his dad's drink and takes a big gulp instantly regretting it when he gets a mouthful of bourbon. He coughs through his swallow and glares at his dad who's laughing at Stiles' misfortune.

     The sheriff sighs out of his laughter, but keeps a small smile on his face, "All joking aside, I think everything went perfect."

     Stiles nods, "Yeah, almost."

     His dad's face falls, obtaining that somber look he gets when Stiles' mother comes up, "She would have loved it, son. The way everything played out."

     Stiles perks up some at that. The thought of his mom being lighthearted always gets to him. He can remember how she took delight in things that were unconventional, like small pranks and when plans deviated from their intended path. She liked to take the long way and see what they could get into on the way there. Stiles grins, "She would have _loved_ Daisy's mother."

     His dad laughs clapping him on the shoulder, and Stiles feels light. Happy like he hasn't felt in a very long time. He glances around the room, sees that Scott and Alison have joined Derek and Talia on the dance floor, as well as Erica and Boyd and Danny and a guy Stiles vaguely remembers seeing at Hale, Inc. a few times. He makes a mental note to interrogate Erica later, since her and Boyd were supposed to be taking a break for a while. She looks happy, so maybe he won't poke at her too much about it. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches sight of something truly amazing.

     "I'll catch you later, Dad. I have a date with some chocolate," Stiles accepts a quick pat on his head before standing and starts to make his way to his destiny, but he stops after a few steps. "And, Dad?" He waits for the old man to give him a questioning look before grinning, "Ask Melissa for a dance, or two."

     He doesn't wait for a response, instead he resumes his quick walk to the wonderful chocolate fountain and grabs a handful of strawberries from the table surrounding it. He's sticking sticks in the berries when someone pushes against his shoulder. He looks up to see Cora gathering some pineapple, a small smile on her face.

     "Hey, sis," he grins.

     She rolls her eyes at him, "Don't start that crap, loser."

     He shoves a freshly skewered strawberry into the chocolate curtain and rolls it around a few times. He grabs a plate to set it on and nods back toward the dance floor, "Figured you'd be all up in that."

     Cora snorts and twirls her pineapple in the chocolate a few times before using Stiles' plate as a resting place for it, "I had my eye on someone, but Lydia told me she dated him for a while during The Big Split, and I do not want to get into that mess."

     Stiles pulls a face, covering some more strawberries in chocolate, "Yeah, I get that."

     "So," Cora smiles, plucking a hardened strawberry from Stiles' plate. "Strawberry shortcake for dessert when you two get back from your honeymoon?"

     Stiles throws a hand over his heart and makes his voice go breathy and low, "God, yes, Cora. How did you know?"

    She wrinkles her nose and devours another strawberry, "Gross."

     The music stops, and then turns into something more upbeat. Stiles turns to see Talia give Derek a kiss on the cheek before leaving him on the dance floor. Stiles shoves the plate into Cora's hands and makes his way to his husband.

 

+

 

     They dance and they drink and Stiles knows he looks ridiculous, but it's okay because Derek's laughing and smiling, and his heart feels too full.

     And, later, when everyone's going home, after the goodbyes and well wishes from their friends and family, they fall into bed together. Wrapped up in each other’s warmth and love, Derek whispering into his ear all the things he's waited to hear for so long.

     Best day ever, indeed.

   

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS:
> 
> Stiles tells Daisy about Derek's past which includes his past drug use. While under the influence, he was unable to stop Kate from doing whatever she wanted to him. There are no hard descriptors, but if you think it may trigger you, skip that part. All you need to know is that it happened and that the house almost burned down with everyone inside.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> [HMU ](http://gunslingerrr.tumblr.com/)


End file.
